Orchids&Dragons

I'm a 59-year-old woman and just passed the 100 lbs lost today. Yeah! 5'6" Highest weight was 272.

We all know that kitties prefer milk!

This is quite interesting. I was a nightly drinker before surgery and expected to have major cravings after. I've always been able to quit drinking when I needed to (like when I was pregnant/nursing) but have been a regular drinker most of my life. I've been pleasantly surprised that I haven't experienced much in the way of cravings since the surgery, but honestly, I'm taking way more vitamins than I ever have before. You may have something there!

Me, too!

Truth for the ages!

I'm glad that you've made the effort to get your alcohol controlled and very interested in vitamins helping with that. When you searched for alcoholism, did you also search for "transfer addiction"? That's what I've seen on these boards a few times. They were discussing how common the problem was to transfer a food addiction to other addictive behaviors. Good luck!

Can 1 oz. of nuts trigger dumping after a bypass?

Have you tried popsicles? You get to count the liquid in them and for a lot of people, they go down easier. Good luck!

Welcome, Vickie! I'm glad you found this site. This is a very supportive and friendly community. Congrats on losing 55 pounds so far, that's fantastic!

I love white bean chili made with ground chicken, https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/white-bean-chicken-chili Also, broccoli-cheese soup, chicken enchilada soup, tuna or chicken salad Good luck! You can have a lot of variety at this stage!

Wow, that looks like so much more than 20 lbs!

You're doing fine, really! All the foods you're eating in the puree phase are sliders, meaning that they "slide" right through your pouch. Once you move on to soft foods, you will start to feel the restriction, I promise! When you've heard the expression "eat around your surgery, or eat around your sleeve" that is what it is referring to. Eating too much of things that don't cause restriction, which enables you to get a load of calories in. (Think how many calories you could manage if all you did was drink chocolate shakes all day.) Sliders are fine right now because you're in healing mode. You'll need to be much more cognizant of them once you've moved on to solid foods. Good luck!

You'll want to get yourself weaned off long before your surgery date. I think ripping the band-aid off all at once is the best route. If you totally eliminate sugars & refined carbs (yes, you have to do both at once), it will take about a week for the cravings to die off. And, I'm not going to lie to you, it is a rough week. But once you get past it, it will become much easier.

Scared the absolute bejesus out of my husband! At first, he thought there was some type of purple dressing around my neck, then he realized it was me!

I tend toward low drama. No dying instructions for hubby and kids; didn't even tell hubby the ATM password! However, waking up with a purple/green swollen neck from an attempt by the anesthesiologist to put in an IV and then a central line put in by the surgeon in the OR (nurses had failed 6 times while I was awake) kinda freaked me out. Found out that all my veins are tiny. Who knew?

I'm an accountant. I took one full week, then a week of half-days. Then back full time. Good luck!

I've never had to "dry" fast for blood work. What type of testing are they doing, if you don't mind my asking?

That looks great! What is in the avocado?

The pickles is a Southern thing, I never could get used to it

@BlueCrush You are lookin' awesome, man! How much have you increased your weights?

At least you got your cardio in!

Looks delicious! What's b/a?

Pho broth is a clear liquid. You're still good ? Good luck!

Very interesting article, thank you!

My best friend and I go out to lunch several times a month. About 3 years ago, she developed an aggressive form of breast cancer. Part of her treatment was to become vegetarian. We both would have suffered if she didn't want to meet up with me because she couldn't eat what I ate. Instead, I made it my challenge to find great tasting vegan/vegetarian restaurants that she hadn't tried yet. Even if I ate some grilled chicken, she was ok, because we had gone somewhere that had good, tempting options for her, as well. After I had my surgery, we found places that were not only vegetarian but offered bariatric-friendly soups, too. Maybe your friends can help you identify the best virgin-drinks in town or offer to be your ride (once you can have a drink or two). Another great support is someone (or more) who are willing to share a couple of bites of their meals with you so that you get the experience without having to waste an entire entree. Giving up our former relationship with food causes grieving and we can go through the steps of grief. You are in the anger stage right now, but you will transition through it and life will be good again.