Smye

Bari-Sushi Prep time - 10-15 minutes for your first try, 4-5 thereafter Oh Sushi, how I love thee, let me count the ways. From our first date, to our 7th wedding anniversary this June, sushi has been a centerpiece to the culinary aspects of my relationship with my partner. Neither of us cares for any cooked fish with fins, but give it to us raw and we'll just about beg. I'm fortunate enough that post-op, I've had no problem with the nori (seaweed) in sushi, but note that some folks really struggle with it. If this is you, try soy wrappers that you can find at most asian grocers instead. If you're really stuck, ask your favorite sushi bar if they know where you can get some or will sell you one of theirs to try. Also, with this sushi, the 'rice' is 100% omittable here - I've recently eliminated it from my sushi rolls, but hey, I'm just trying to cram more delicious salmon into my pouch, but that doesn't mean this 'rice' isn't great! Oh, and I should point out that the term "sushi grade" is absolutely meaningless. To make sure your fish is safe for you, buy fresh fish, make sure it doesn't smell fishy at all, pre slice it into your preferred sushi style, and then freeze it for at least a week. The parasites and other bugs that might be in your salmon cannot survive a week at temperatures that cold. Tuna is another matter - here you want it fresh fresh fresh and never frozen. If in doubt, find a local sushi chef and ask him/her. The recipe below is for a single Philadelphia roll, about all I can eat in 1 sitting, but feel free to modify to your heart's content, that's the beauty of sushi. Ingredients: Nori or soy wrap - 1 sheet Raw salmon, previously frozen for > 1 wk - 50 g Lowfat cream cheese or neufchatel - 1 Tbsp Avocado - 25 g Cauliflower, riced - 35 g Rice vinegar, unseasoned - 1.5 tsp Tamari or low-sodium soy sauce - 1 Tbsp Wasabi paste - 1/4 tsp Preparation: Thaw your salmon Microwave the riced cauliflower, covered, for 30-60 seconds until soft Drain excess Water from cauliflower Stir in rice vinegar to taste Spread warm vinegarred cauliflower onto nori sheet, leaving ~1 inch uncovered on 1 edge Roughly 1 inch away from the edge opposite the bare edge of the nori, lay the salmon, cream cheese, and avocado in a line parallel to the line of bare nori Tightly roll the sushi up, starting on the 'filling edge.' This takes practice, but can be helped a lot by using a sushi mat Wet a sharp knife and slice roll into 1/2 inch rounds Mix tamari & wasabi in a dipping dish Dip your sushi, eat and enjoy Nutrition: Calories: 164 Carbs: 7 g Fat: 10 g Protein: 14 g Sodium: 225 mg (assuming you don't drink the leftover tamari when you're done) Deliciousness: infinite

@@Inner Surfer Girl, welcome to the other side! Let us know if you need ideas for your various phases, much like the 'forever' phase, most of the common suggestions out there taste awful after a few days.

Black & Bleu Pastrami Sandwich Prep time - 8 minutes Cook time - 2 minutes I've never been a huge fan of pastrami. On it's own it reminds me too much of an over-cured hotdog, even when I make my own from my goats. But put it on this particular sandwich - WATCH OUT. For the recipe below, I used the columbus brand pastrami from costco as I doubt most others here do their own charcuterie. Also, please note that this sandwich is quite large (from a post-op perspective), I rarely can even quite finish a half, but it's just as good the next day. Ingredients: Pastrami - 3 Slices BariBread - 2 slices Dill Pickle - 1 Reduced fat cheddar, shredded - 20 g Chunky bleu cheese dressing - 1 Tbsp Stone ground mustard - 2 tsp Arugula (optional) - 1 small handful Yellow onion, diced - 1/4 cup Preparation: Carmelize your onions over medium low heat - this is essential! Just be careful not to burn them Decide which slice of your bread will be side A and which will be side B, we'll be building these open-faced and the order is important. Slice A: Slather on the mustard - use more if you like, it's calorie free (nearly) Slice your pickle into even slices and arrange to cover as much of the bread as possible Fold the pastrami slices in half and arrange on the pickles evenly Slice B: Spread the bleu cheese dressing on this side evenly Spread the onions over the dressing evenly Spread the cheese over the onions, be sure to cover all of the onions as this will help hold the sandwich together. Low-broil both slices open-faced until the cheese is melted and lightly browned. Watch it closely as it burns easily. Remove from the broiler, place the arugula, if desired, between the halves of the sandwich, put everything together, slice into quarters and enjoy! Just be sure to chew thoroughly. Nutrition - remember, I only ever eat, at most, half of one of these at a time Calories: 338 Carbs: 7 g Fat: 21 g Protein: 30 g Sodium (ACK!): 1,027 mg

Thanks, a factor of 1000 is quite a bit

Bariatric Bibim Bop Prep time - 5 minutes Cook time - 10-15 minutes Alright, I know, Bibim Bob means mixed rice, so any true fan of Korean food, Korean or otherwise will probably want to shoot me for calling this bibim bop, but hey, I love Korean food and this ain't half bad for a bariatric modification. The trick here is to use a little rice vinegar in the 'rice' and then broil it before serving. Ingredients (per serving) Kale, spinach, bok choi, or other greens - 25 g Gochujang (korean fermented pepper paste) - 1/2 Tbsp Ground beef (or goat, or chicken, or pork) - 30 g Egg - 1 Cauliflower - 50 g Rice vinegar (unseasoned) - 1 tsp Kimchee - 1.5 oz Sesame oil - 1 tsp Tamari or soy sauce - 2 tsp Crushed garlic - 1/2 clove Sesame seeds - 1 tsp Stevia or other sweetener - just a sprinkle (optional) Preparation: 'rice' the raw cauliflower in a food processor or cheese grater until rice-sized chunks form, mix with rice vinegar. DO NOT PUREE Spread the cauliflower in a thin, even layer on a baking sheet, set aside - you'll want to broil this at the end but have it pre-riced Add sesame oil to pan on med-low heat and saute garlic until not quite brown Add greens and sesame seeds until wilted. Set aside. Add ground beef, tamari, gochujang, and stevia to the pan used to cook greens. If you can't find any gochujang (usually found near the curry paste in asian grocers), you can use a black bean chili sauce - even fewer calories just not quite as tasty or authentic Cook until beef is just done, set aside. Now fry egg in the same pan, sunny-side up. You want it nearly raw, just cooked enough. While egg is frying, broil cauliflower rice until brown and almost crispy but not burnt. Add rice to bowl, top with beef, egg & greens. Stir and enjoy! For extra heat, add no-sugar-added sambal - but go easy. It packs a punch that may be hard to handle for casual-SE Asian cuisine eaters. Nutrition: Calories: 283 - but good luck finishing even 1 serving in a single meal - I usually split into two meals Carbohydrates: 13 g Fat: 10 g (use less oil, have less fat) Protein: 13 g Sodium: 555 mg

@@Stevehud, HA! Thanks. It may take a couple of tries to get the baking time right, but man oh man is it good. I use it for pastrami, burgers, ham sandwiches, pizza, with a little garlic & oil for naan. All in all, it ain't half bad.

Bari-Bread: Prep time - 10 minutes, Cook time - 20-30 minutes Let's start with the basics. I'm sure many of us wish we could still have some sort of bread, even if only as a vehicle for meat, eggs, or cheese on our sandwiches. Despite their apparent simplicity, this riff on Paleo Oopsie Rolls have a great flavor reminiscent of potato bread and easily modifiable to meet most any palatte. Ingredients: 1/8 tsp cream of tartar 1/8 tsp salt 3 egg whites 3 Tbsp lowfat cream cheese or neufchatel, room temparature 2 Tbsp Water Preparation: Preheat oven to 300F Beat egg whites & cream of tartar until stiff peaks form Blend water, salt & cream cheese Fold cream cheese mixture into egg whites gently Spoon in 6 equal sized 'patties' on nonstick surface (parchment paper with NS spray or silpat) Bake at 300F for 20-30 minutes depending upon elevation. Remove when browned but at about the texture of the tip of your nose. Remove from baking sheet and allow to cool to room temperature Store in refrigerator in an open ziploc Nutrition per 'roll' Calories: 25 Total fat: 1 g Total Carbs: 1 g Total Protein: 3 g Cholesterol: 4 mg Sodium: 99 mg Potassium: 50 mg Modifications: Add dill or dehydrated onion for sandwich rolls Add caraway for a rye-like flavor Add sesame seeds on top for burgers Add basil & oregano to use as a pizza crust Add taragon for a chicken salad sandwich

Hello BariBrothers, BariSisters, BariFamilies, and general lovers of healthy, good food. My name is Smye and I live on a small farm in the Pacific Northwest. During both pre and post op appointments with my nutritionist, I was horrified by the suggested things I could eat once I was back to 'regular foods.' The suggestions I was given were flavorless, full of preservatives & junk, and/or otherwise reminiscent of the american 'instafoods' that are, in my opinion, a huge part of the original problems. That said, I wanted to share some of the real, whole foods I've been enjoying lately without hurting my sleeve or deviating from the dietary guidelines provided to me by my NUT. I'm down 86 lb since I started this journey on Jan 22, 2015, and loving every meal as much as, or more than, pre-op. I've spent the last 7 years accommodating good food to meet my partner's corn, dairy, and gluten allergies without losing any of the flavor or texture with 80% of all ingredients sourced from my own small farm, so it wasn't too big of a jump to make these recipes low carb, high Protein and delicious. Over the next few weeks I'll be posting recipes like: Bariatric BibimBop Pho Pastrami Sandwich Madras curry with fried tofu chicken tenders with sauce Sushi - Philadelphia rolls in particular Personal Pizzas Smoked cherry-glazed chicken Barbeque-smoked chicken Ham and cheese omlette Pickled duck eggs Quiche Ham, egg & cheese sandwiches Bari-bread Guacamole Cheeseburgers And many more There's no need for food to be tasteless, uninteresting, or questionable in it's contents. If there's something you'd like to see that's not here, please PM me and I'll do my best - I also make sure to try everything myself and feed it to my executive chef neighbor before I post it to ensure it's excellent!

You'll be surprised how filled up you can get on protein shakes at first. The other recommendation I've got is to try the Nectar Whey Isolates from Syntrax. They're a bit pricey, but a WONDERFUL change up from all of the creamy-chalkiness of standard protein shakes. I liked the fuzzy navel for a while, but it got old and now I'm thoroughly enjoying the lemon iced tea. Haven't tried most of them yet, but have a friend with enough of the apple, and a few others that I'll get to sample soon.

Vanilla premier protein with a sleeve of decaf via from starbucks. AMAZING! Also, the Unjury chicken broth is not half bad.

And, oh yeah, *hugs*

@@ilikecake2much, let me first say you are one strong cookie to come join the boards and ask for support! Congratulations on that and keep up the good work! As you note, bariatric surgery is scary as hell at first, many of us swore long ago that we would never even consider such a thing - there's so much stigma, misinformation, fear, and outdated accurate info out there that we're bombarded with everyday; not to mention the messaging we get everywhere to just "cowboy/girl up and buckle down and lose the weight already." Too bad our bodies don't work like that. I won't presume to give you advice in terms of 'do it' or 'don't to it.' That's no one's place but yours and, possibly, your doctor's and spouses. I will, however, offer this bit of advice. Find a counsellor and/or therapist. Not because there's something 'wrong' with you or your brain, not because you have any sort of neurological or psychological condition, but because even being told 'you're a prime candidate for WLS' is world-rocking. I spent 25 years convinced I was 'fat but fit,' I live on a farm, raise 85% of my own food and walked/jogged 4-8 miles/day. Then my doc gave me the same message yours gave you. The next several months, whether you have surgery or not, are going to be very challenging emotionally and having someone trained who can help you process and coach you through figuring out your own process and decisions is invaluable in staying sane and - from the sounds of things - ensuring your relationship stays as healthy as possible. I can't imagine how frustrating it would be to doubt your partner's support, but I know a LMHC can help you to navigate those frightening waters. And for the little it's worth - I consider myself a very open, educated, and secure individual - but only 4 people in my life know I had WLS. The others only know about the hiatal hernia repair I had at the same time and everyone assumes I've just started living healthier to drop all this weight - I often feel I betrayed my own body and the 'fat-culture' in that, but for my family, there was no way WLS would be acceptable. Whatever you choose to do, keep us posted and good luck! Lastly - I'm in academia and have access to a large amount of research that most folks have to pay $50-$175/article to get ahold of. Let me know if you need anything or have any research you want to do that i can help you with.

I didn't get my nausea under control in the first few days until my 4th anti-nausea medication and until I stopped the pain meds. That combination finally did the trick. Best wishes for your daughter, nausea is the worst of human sensations.

@@LipstickLady, HA! I will say that the last time I felt that constipated (3 days ago), I totally felt like a baby was coming through, but then was shocked to find I'd delivered something more akin to a baby mouse than a baby human. @@20150522MC, always glad to help!

@@Luvin_Life125, thanks! It's the weirdest thing I tell ya. I've always had elevated estrogen levels (thanks mom!), but this is a whole new level. @@gowalking, thank you for the anecdote - I'm always fascinated by the biochemical interactions our bodies have with hormones. I was trained as a biochemist before becoming a teacher, so I know all of the explanation behind all of this, but having it actually happen to me is something else entirely @@Luvin_Life125, thanks! It's the weirdest thing I tell ya. I've always had elevated estrogen levels (thanks mom!), but this is a whole new level. @@gowalking, thank you for the anecdote - I'm always fascinated by the biochemical interactions our bodies have with hormones. I was trained as a biochemist before becoming a teacher, so I know all of the explanation behind all of this, but having it actually happen to me is something else entirely

@@amponder, I'll admit, were I actually pregnant, I think I'd be more concerned And yes, the Dr. was able to explain that it's because our fat cells are producers and warehouses for massive amounts of various estrogens. Since I've dropped 70 lb in 63 days, I've effectively dumped 70 lb worth of estrogen storage directly into my bloodstream. It's pretty normal, and I knew to expect it to some extent, but WHOA, it hit me a lot harder than expected.

@@VSGmary & @@bubbles2015, HA! I'm glad my story could provide some entertainment in addition to just sharing my experience. @@Elode, thank you! Has anyone else had a similar experience?

The math is an approximation, it depends on a large number of factors, and the apparent growth (that is, the amountthat newly sticks out of your rolls as weight is lost) by no means follows a linear curve. If that was the case, you could gain to 600lb, then lose to 200 and magically have something like 14 inches which is lunacy. That said, I'm down 70 lb from 415 and have gained about 1.75"

I will say there's one gentleman at my local CasualMaleXL (the western branch of DXL) who will simply not leave me alone. I have recently told him outright that "I think you and I simply have too divergent of ideas about what looks good on me for us to work together." I did recently find though that one of the female employees who never approaches me, when I ask he for help is phenomenal!

I suspected immediately when I had my first episode of morning sickness. Not long after my sense of smell went into overdrive and even walking into the produce section of Safeway was impossible from the nauseating smell of raw fish at the fish counter on the other end of the store. The next day I found myself sobbing uncontrollably at the littlest things, even when I wasn't actually sad. Just yesterday a student of mine looked at me funny while I was teaching and I found myself with tears streaming down my face. At first I was so excited, but then I started to worry. My belly wasn't growing with a little bundle of joy inside, it was shrinking rapidly. Am I having a reverse-baby somehow? Is that even a thing? Not to mention the fact that my wife and I haven't even had sex in the 20 months since our first child was born due to some complications from an incompetent surgeon. Maybe I'm not pregnant after all. Fortunately, my 1-month post WLS appt was late last week and I determined to asked my doctor about it. He smiled sadly and assured me that everything would be okay before he went to check my bloodwork. When he came back in, he assured me that indeed, my estrogen levels, as well as several other female-associated hormone levels, were consistent with pregnancy. "Congratulations Smye, you're pregnant, but without the baby at the end." That's right folks, a man, with many of the symptoms of early pregnancy due to rapid weight loss causing a mass-dump of estrogens into the bloodstream. Apparently it will pass once the loss slows down (hopefully no time soon). To the ladies out there, in no way do I intend to say I know what it is like to be pregnant, I've only gotten a tiny taste here, but I hope you enjoyed.

Weirdly enough it started really getting noticed at about 2 weeks post-op, but then again, having so much to lose I lost a lot right away

I'm over a month out and still have it quite a bit. It's gotten better though - I'm told that as we learn better and better how to avoid swallowing minute bits of air, we'll feel better and better. Eventually they say it stops.

CONGRATS! Just be careful hanging out on the interwebs - you're more affected by those surgery drugs than you may realize - I sent complete nonsense to my boss at work when I tried to let her know all went well

I think you'll find it's harder than you think at first to even finish 2 tablespoons. I'm nearly 5 weeks out and only barely able to eat an entire deli slice of turkey (thin sliced).

I have a 20-month-old son with autism and it's been the hardest part of having the surgery. Not being able to pick him up during a meltdown means they actually last for hours and hours if my wife is at work. His therapist thinks we're going to be alright and not have any long term affects from it, but I've got to say, coming from a strong attachment-parenting philosophy, it's torture. All said, I'd have the surgery again in a heartbeat. We've gotten help from a neighbor who's been an enormous boon