Travelher

this...and pinteresting low carb recipes. and WLS vlogs...

i"m in week 5 and not eating lettuce or raw veggies, I have tried cucumbers (skinned) and that worked well with some hummus, but it is a softer less fibrous veggie, tomatoes will probably work for me as well, but haven't felt the need to try it. My Dietitian is fine with me having soft foods at this point (not necessarily purees). eg ground meats work well for me as long as they are moist (so I have made chili, stuffed peppers etc). i have have had 2 oz of chicken thigh with a low fat gravy and it worked well. any meat portions I'm keeping to 2 oz (particularly if dense like salmon sashimi or chicken). if my meal had ground beef I keep it to around 1/2 cup and i stop when I feel satiated. I'm having cottage cheese several times a week. My diet introduces fruit (as a carb portion) at the purees stage. I have a 1/2 banana in my morning Protein shake. that is the extent of my fruit consumption in a day. I have pureed and strained berries and added a tablespoon to my cottage cheese to sweeten it. if i liked yogurt I would have done that with yogurt as well. keep in mind I had a revision so my pouch is bigger than most bypass patients so I understand that were I may be comfortable with 2 oz of meat a regular bypass patient may be full with 1. Bottom line, follow what your doctor has given you, with the caveat that if you don't think you are ready for something yet..wait. eg. I tried a hard boiled egg in a pinch at work for a snack when I ran out of shakes...ugh...too dense..I didn't feel sick but it felt like it was still sitting in my stomach hours later, so i'm sticking to poached for now. I'm in no rush to try raw veggies and lettuce though I really miss salad. I'm satisfied with the variety of foods i'm eating for now so I'll probably wait until 3+months to try it, I will have to see how the other things I'm slowly introducing and trying go.

I have to say from someone who has worked in HR since the 90's 20% premium increases annually is pretty typical. for the 20 ish years I've practiced HR. the only thing that typically reduces this at the company level is claims experience level. I've experienced the odd year of flat increases or drops but it is unusual.

This brings back my only truly awkward/shocked/speechless moment. I had just been cleared for soft foods and I went to the market's salad bar to get my teeny tiny lunch. At that time, I was especially fond of their chicken salad and their seafood salad. I got MAYBE two tablespoons of each in the salad bar container (knowing I would take half home) and went to the register. The cashier, a big girl herself, looked at me (remember, I was just about 6 weeks post op and still quite the fatty) and said, "Girl! You know you eat more than that! Who you trying to fool??" in the loudest voice. And yes, everyone in line turned to look at me and my pathetic salad. I was hormonal, stressed at the idea that any food I ate still came back up because of my stricture, and absolutely floored that anyone would say something like that. I barely held my **** together, told her I had stomach cancer and moved on through. She's not looked at me in the eye since. Drops mic!

Congrats! You look great!

Cottage cheese. I have also added flavourless protein to some of my meals to boost. Eg cottage cheese with puréed berries to sweeten and 1tbs Protein powder. I have also added a tablespoon of protein powder to my chili, Soups etc. , ground chicken works well for me. Eg had 1/2 bell pepper with a ground chicken mix for lunch...was delish! Beans are good options that work for lots of people, Made hummus for Snacks...eggs work for snacks as well. So it might look like cottage cheese for Breakfast Egg for snack Chili with protein powder boot for lunch Hummus for snack with cucumbers Sashimi for dinner I've also done 2 poached eggs for breakfast with 1/4 squash Cottage cheese for snack Soup with protein boost for lunch Hummus snack Stuffed pepper for dinner. I prefer the shakes for my mornings or I end up reducing the protein portion as I don't want a lot of food in the morning. I've been blending my shake with 1/2 banana and 1tbs of PB2 and drinking that for breakfast. I've never been a breakfast eater...used to do a Starbucks mocha for breakfast...my replacement is much healthier...though I do miss the coffee flavour!

I have several mini goals. 222 (my weight when the band failed in March). 213, My low weight for 2015. 203 my lowest weight after giving birth to my son. Then, of course, onederland.

I had a roommate when I was in the clinic. We both went into surgery at roughly the same time 7:30am. His wife was waiting for him in our room and was getting increasingly worried as time passed. I was out by 9:30...at noon he was still not down. His wife told me he did not follow his pre-op diet. He was supposed to do 3 weeks, he did 3 days...because he didn't like the shakes...neither did I so I consulted with the dietician and switched to something I did like. At noon the surgeons came down and said that his liver was fused to his stomach...they had to spend hours separating them. My surgeon had to go in and help his doctor complete the surgery because of the complications. He didn't come down from recovery until about 7pm and I'm sure was in the hospital longer than I was. He really looked like he was struggling. I'm very happy about following the pre-op plan..frankly I lost more weight in those 2 weeks than I have post-op..Go figure...

Nope, not tempted too much by candy...on the other hand my hubby is sitting across from me eating a huge bag of freshly popped buttery popcorn. I'm staring daggers right now. Popcorn is my kryptonite. I could live on popcorn alone. Oh I could seriously kill him right now....then take his popcorn...

Not 50 yet, but just had a band to bypass revision and hoping to reach my goal by my 50th birthday just over a year from now.

have you talked to your doctor. I wonder about a possible stricture?

I'm so sorry you are having such a rough time. I'm hoping they are able to find a permanent fix for you so you can start to enjoy your journey.

I also chose RNY because it is the gold standard and proven results for decades. I also have problems for acid reflux. am on a PPI but I understand that is not unusual because sometimes it takes a while for your stomach to realize it doesn't need to produce at much acid because it is smaller. thanks,

I told my boss my co-workers I'm friends with, any of my friends that I've been in touch with since making the decision. Basically not keeping it a secret.

I'm 5'4 and i set mine at 170. I got down to 160 after my band surgery in 2005 but settled at 170 and I felt and looked good at that weight. My lowest adult weight was 145 in my early 20's but that when I was working out 3 hrs a day and eating less than 800 calories a day..not healthy and I started to develop injuries as a result of the excessive exercise. I don't see that as realistic for me.

Because I haven't seen it discussed on here as something that people did not anticipate or prepare for after surgery. I have seen many posts from newbies who want to keep their surgeries secret. Now those people who may not have considered this have some tips and tricks for how to deal with this issue. Thought that is what these forums as for?

The split food option works well for my husband and I except now because I'm on soft food still. But not an option for single first time dates post surgery as I was the last time. Though would make an interesting post date story I'm sure I'd someone did that. we were at our usual favourite restaurants...so I'd totally be fine telling them about the surgery so it is a non issue going forward...but I'm an. Oversharer. I know lots of people on here are more discrete so I'm sure the ideas are helpful....

I always did turkey for 8 adults and never got one bigger than 10lbs and we always had lots of leftovers...that is without having lasagna and other "mains" options. 12lbs should be plenty big and then some.

Not worried now...but it made it awkward when I was first dating and people start noticing you not eating. This is not something most people anticipate having to deal with pre-surgery. Just something people need to prepare for. I ended up up telling my (now) husband about my surgery. Pretty early on...so it no longer mattered. Others are more sensitive about it. Especially in early dating scenarios.

I know, right? I'm traveling for work in a couple of weeks. I'll be going out with colleagues, most of whom know about the surgery, so It won't be so awkward. It is annoying though. Usually with large groups someone orders appetizers for the table. That leaves an opening for the old "oh I'm stuffed, I filled up on appetizers"

I went out for dinner for the first time with my husband last night. I ordered Soup and ate about 3/4 cup. The server asked me if everything was ok? With concern. I assured him it was delicious and prayed the owner did not also come and do the same. It was a flashback to 10 years ago when I was first dating my husband and I had a lap band and waiters would do the same thing. It was embarrassing because it happened on almost every date. My husband would probably have never noticed it had everyone else not kept pointing it out. How do you handle this?

I just had my band revised to rny. The lapbad is a piece of equipment and will eventually age and fail. My bet is that everyone with one will eventually need a revision. Mine lasted 11 years, but I've heard many fail at 5. My surgeon went as far as saying anyone still putting them in now should be sued for malpractice, they just don't work long term...10+ years and many people have issues with them and they have the data to support that.

The canadian system is certainly not perfect (none are) but it is what I would call good. If I need to see a doctor I can get in same day and pay nothing, if I break my leg, I get seen same day and pay nothing. I recently had an ultrasound which found a tumour on my kidney, I had a ct scan scheduled within a week. (I think reasonable). Where I have experienced delays are in non-life threatening type things that require a specialist. I asked for an MRI on my knee...(I have a lot issues with my acl). That could take months because they put emergent cases ahead of you...but if I want to skip the line I can pay for an MRI at a private clinic (for significantly less than in the us). Bypass surgery is also covered here, depending on where you live the wait times are anywhere from 8 months to 18months...sometime requires up to 6months medically supervised diet. I didn't want to wait after my band failed so I went to a clinic and did self pay. Frankly my work has asked me to move to the US, the biggest reason I won't is the Heath Care system. My husband has crohns and I worry if we were to move there it could threaten us financially...it just is not even something people think about here. I'm hoping Canada expands our system to include drugs as well, like many countries in Europe so the drug costs would come down as well.

Good luck to you both. I'm 4 weeks post op. Best decision ever!

Would an american hospital not treat a patient with complications post surgery, regardless of where the original surgery is done? that seems strange to me.