GreenTealael

You don’t necessarily need to make to goal quickly to be successful. Even after the hunger returns I found it to be completely manageable and I was much more aware of how/why/when to eat. In retrospect, I was completely mindless about food (and especially drinks) before WLS.

6-7 months, but when hunger returned it was no where near pre surgery levels

I have not made it but the last time I ate it the spices I could detach were distinctly leaning toward the Italian side (which most people would expect from a tomato gravy) so not traditional but it worked

If you don’t like the idea of puréed meat, it may be better to wait until you are out of the purée phase. The other sources of protein that you have been eating will probably be fine. Ask your Doctor or Nutritionist what they recommend.

Which spices did you use?

Yet another study on the effects of artificial sweeteners. I like stevia/xylitol but when it’s not available I will use Splenda. The WLS & WL community *probably* consumes the second highest quantity of artificial sweeteners *probably* only surpassed by diabetics. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20210228/Commonly-used-sweeteners-may-promote-antibiotic-resistance.aspx Journal reference: Yu Z, et al. Nonnutritive sweeteners can promote the dissemination of antibiotic resistance through conjugative gene transfer. The ISME Journal, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-021-00909-x, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41396-021-00909-x#Sec18

I’ll say this time and time again, I won’t miss having to worry if I’ll break a chair😞

I’m totally a lazy cook with brief moments of inspiration but not much since early last year. My favorites are : 1. Morningstar farms meatless products for my “vegetarian” BF (really he’s just a pizzatarian😂). 2. Kirkwood (red bag) chicken fillets found in Aldi. I can eat just these with a salad but *feel* like I cooked.

That’s exactly why I started cutting them! I couldn’t eat a two slice sandwich without paying the price 😞

Back to normal control foods with logging 😒 turkey and cheese w/carrots (not pictured) before and after (I ate .75) I’m still cutting the one slice of bread down the middle. Also Aldi rebranded the bread but it’s still the same ... maybe they can make it more accessible too

I wish I would have done this at 27 Congrats in the upcoming surgery

I agree ☝

I have been told that people in the slightly higher BMI bracket (27-29 range) statistically live longer (I never bothered to find research journals on this because it was music to my BMI 28 ears)

Things to look out for: Constant and rising fever, constant vomiting/diarrhea, bright bloody vomit/stool, pain that increases over time, pain that does not diminish with pain medication, overall decline of wellness (or improvement-plateau-decline) Things you may inadvertently be doing: Not drinking enough clear fluids (only protein shakes), drinking/eating too much/fast (everything reaches the intestines quicker than with previous WLS) , taking pills that are too big (can you split them?) Definitely call your surgeon if nothing improves or you’re just worried.

Food photo dump ! Speaking of dumping, anything too rich and/or sweet will cause it for me (this means decadent meat and pastry are equally problematic, 😒) All photos are “afters” Fatteh - roasted lamb and spiced eggplant with nuts in garlic yogurt (SO amazing) Classic cheeseburger from a Guy Fiore burger joint (good but too rare for me) Waffle with hazelnuts, Nutella ice cream& white chocolate sauce Lemon tart - very very good but too sweet for me Mango - I realize that I barely eat fruit anymore

Get well soon

Salmon over mashed potatoes w/ carrots, spinach and lemongrass (I did not make this)

I know! Can you imagine having any other body part repaired/replaced/augmented and being told to never use it again? 😂