SueFromMichigan

We eat venison a lot. It is lower in fat content, even after the processor adds suet to the ground venison to help hold it together. I like my venison cooked in a crock pot. It is a relatively dry meat, and this keeps it moist. In fact, except for the ground meat, that's the only way I will eat it. Any recipe suitable for beef in a crock pot will be even better with venison, and healthier, too. One of the easiest recipes, suitable for deer steak, chops or tenderloin, is to just put it in the crockpot with half a packet of onion Soup mix and Water to cover. Let it cook for 7-8 hours on low. If you like pot roast, you can add potatoes, onions, and carrots, but if you do they should be put in at the same time and below the meat. If you don't have a crock pot - get one! They are a lapbander's best friend because they keep the meat moist and thus easier to eat. Ground venison makes good burgers, meatloaf, chili, sloppy Joes, etc.

I just read through the entire "Where are all the Michigan people at?" thread and only found a couple of people from my part of the state. (They were both from Kazoo.) Surely some others from Benton Harbor/St. Joe/Niles/Sturgis/Dowagiac/Allegan or the Sunset Coast are here. I had my surgery May 16th in Detroit - necessary to go there because Medicare requires a Center of Excellence. But I found a great doctor in Niles for follow-up and fills, so I haven't had to go back to Detroit. He is Dr. Michael Schuhknecht - you can read about him here: Niles Michigan - The Niles Star He also does the surgery in Niles & St. Joe, but was happy to take me on for just fills & f/u. Would be interested in comparing notes with other Bandsters from this area.

Jachut, Here in the US we call it Apple Crisp or Apple Brown Betty. Very good, especially with Cool Whip or Ice Cream on top.

Jazzey, Guess that is the very reason most of us got the band - no success loosing weight before. Do you have to lose that final few pounds before you can have the surgery? Max'sMom, This is a very active support group, but most of the action is in the "New 60+ thread". Feel free to join us there.

In our household we always make Crystal Light half-strength. (One little tub per gallon of water.) That said, I have had good success mixing Unjury Strawberry Sorbet with several different flavors of CL - Peach tea, Sunrise Orange, Strawberry Kiwi, etc. We also like to use the Wal-Mart brand of drink mixes and I like to mix the Unjury with the cherry flavor.

The dip and/or the chicken salad is delicious on crackers. I find I just crave the crunch and the salt sometimes. But, being on a budget, I find it much more economical to use the reduced fat wheat crackers from either Aldi's or Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart's Great Value brand allows 15 crackers per serving for 130 Cal, 20 g carb, 2 gm protein. The Aldi's brand (Fit & Active) allows 18 crackers for the same amounts of calories, protein and carbs. Fat calories are slightly lower at 35. Both have 3 g sugars. Best of all, they taste great and cost just $1 - $1.10!

My doctor is a strong believer in 6 small meals a day. He says that is the way humans are meant to eat. So I tend to have trouble eating often enough and little enough. Probably because pre-band, though I knew better, I tended to skip breakfast and lunch (because I wasn't hungry and was busy) and eat a lot at supper, then snack in the evening. Now I try to remember to eat something every three hours. But I still tend to be hungrier at night. I have had just one fill so far, so I'm still able to eat a lot at one time. Hopefully this will change as I get more fills. I usually use yogurt or a protein bar as a midafternoon snack, then cheese and/or whole wheat crackers or refried beans + cheese and salsa in the evening.

I love microwaved scrambled eggs. Just mix in a little skim milk and nuke them for 2 minutes, season, stir, then maybe a little longer depending on how moist you want them. I have had one fill and still no problem with eggs - hope it stays that way!

Too late already. All samples are gone.

Glad to hear you are doing so well. You will have some soreness the next few days. And I, at least, have gas pains. But nothing unbearable. And it is so good to be home! I plan to keep to the diet religiously and give my body a chance to heal. I'm not looking forward to Memorial Day weekend. We always go to our family campground so I will have to pack campfire type foods for my husband and watch other people eat. :-(

I am so glad I found this thread. I have read it from start to finish. I just had my surgery last Friday and this has definitely strengthened my resolve to follow the liquid diet 100%. As an older bandster, I realize my healing may take longer than some younger people, so I want to be especially careful not to mess things up. I do have one comment. Like some others, I went a long way away to have the surgery. I don't feel I received the care I should have there. I never saw or talked to a nutritionist or dietician. I never saw or talked to any kind of counselor or the onsite clinic coordinator. I met the doctor only briefly before the surgery and never saw him thereafter. A resident came in the day after surgery and offered to answer any questions, etc., but everyone else seemed to be off for the weekend. I feel like I was on an assembly line in many ways. I wouldn't feel comfortable calling the doctor's office - I'm sure they would have to dig out my chart to give me any advice, because no one there really knows me, and I'm sure the surgeon wouldn't even remember me. My coordinator is available by telephone - she is really my only resource. As it happens, I am a researcher by nature. And I've learned where to go to find the answers to my questions myself (here at LBT, for instance). I am retired,so I have the time to do so. But I want to know if there are others who are in the same boat? So much of the advise here seems to be to "call your surgeon". Thankfully, I have found a physician locally to do my follow up care. I am looking forward to my initial post-op visit and meeting a doctor I can trust.

I think Celebrex, as a Cox-2 inhibitor, is different from the NSAIDs. It was not, for instance, on the list of those NSAIDs to quit taking before surgery. And my doctor allowed me to resume it right after surgery - they even gave me one in the hospital the evening of surgery. But that is Celebrex - I would not take ibupropen, aspirin, Aleve or any of the others. So what NSAID are you on? Can your physician prescribe Celebrex if you are not on it? I know I would be miserable without it (I've tried).

clc, what kinds of liquid mixes, etc. have you tried? I find Unjury flavors very good. But if you don't like them, the unflavored variety can be mixed with whatever you think tastes good. I usually use 1/2 strength Crystal Lite or the Wal-Mart brand of sugar free drink mix.

Good luck to you! I just was banded last Friday and I really would have appreciated another night in the hospital. My first night there, with a trapeze above the bed, was a lot more pleasant than my second night at a hotel, where I had to be so careful getting in and out of bed. Enjoy it!

I'm also in the same boat - waiting for the phone to ring. The doctor's office had to give my insurance a surgery date, and, since I would like to do it before the warmer weather, when I know I can be more active, they scheduled me for 5/14. But they didn't request insurance approval till 5/6. So I am starting on the liquid diet with no real certainty that my surgery will be done 5/14. I think it will be approved, but how soon? How long does insurance approval take? I plan to call my insurance company tomorrow to ask how its going. Humana has a Bariatric Management Dept. - they told me it only has two people, Jill and Janet, and I have spoken to both of them before. So maybe they will give me a clue.

Hi all, I am a 66 y.o. mother of six grown children. I have not had my surgery yet. Rather than Medicare, I have a Medicare substitute called Humana Gold Choice. I am awaiting approval from them and hoping to get it in time to have my surgery on 5/14. My BMI is 39.1 now, but I have hypertension, high cholesterol and arthritis. I will be going to Detroit to Harper Hospital - Dr. Gazayerli. I am working with a group called beliteweight.com. They are surgery coordinators. They are helpful when I call them, but I hate to keep calling with every question I have, so I'm glad to have found this forum. Because my surgery will hopefully be 5/14, I started the pre-op diet yesterday. So far so good, but I was on Medifast in the past, so I know the really rough part is on the 3rd to 4th day. I was an RN before retirement, and am not worried about the surgery itself. But I did not go to any seminars, nor have I had anything other than phone contacts with my coordinators. I was a librarian before I became a nurse, so I have been doing my own research. Detroit is about 175 miles away. I will only be going there once, for a three day stay including the surgery itself. I will be having follow-up care and fills locally with a physician who used to be at Detroit. I wish I could have the surgery locally, too, but Medicare (and thus Humana) require it be done at a Center of Excellence. It has been helpful to read the forums and learn how everyone is doing and how the different pre and post-op instructions have varied. Thanks for being there, Sue