Hello All You Boomers!

This Chat Room is now open for members to get acquainted. C'mon in ... the water's fine. Chat about whatever's on your mind. Let's get to know each other. Who will be the first in?

Here's a few questions to get you started.

Who's the youngest member of our group? (I'm the oldest.)

Who's newly married?

Who's newly sleeved?

Who's still searching?

Faye ... quit bragging! LOL Congrats on taking charge of that nasty scale.

Cheryl & others who can't/don't eat beef. Have you tried ham? There's a special business here that only makes honey ham. It is incredibly delicious, cooked to perfection, practically falls apart with a fork, and is not salty at all. They only sell pretty big sizes, but it lasts a long time and/or you can freeze it. It is pretty pricey, but is better than anything you can get anywhere, including in your own kitchen. That's what I intend to eat post-surgery. I already got a friend to split it with me. Just something to consider.

I'm also gonna try pork roasts. You know, the kind they sell in rolls. I don't know the fat or calorie count, but doubt it could matter much, considering how small a portion we eat.

BEET chicken salad

Saw a recipe for this "yummy beet chicken salad" in another post here. It sounds good so I copied it for reposting here. Problem for me is I love beets, but hate blue cheese (and feta) cheese. What do you think I could substitute instead? And what does Tsatzik sauce taste like?

3 oz. chicken (I use canned chicken for convenience).

1 small beet sliced into cubes.

3 slices of cucumber cubes.

.5 oz. blue cheese crumbles

1 tbsp Tsatziki sauce (we made a vsg friendly version)

Throw in a bowl, mix and enjoy. The only thing that is missing is some farrow or quinoa to round out the nutrients. I failed to locate some to add. The original poster said he found himself wanting to prepare it this morning instead of the usual quick lean Protein (eg. chicken) grab.

Cheryl, I haven't been having issues with beef or chicken, but I have always been a meat kind of girl. Is it a texture issue for you, or something else that's making it difficult? I'm wondering if preparing it in the slow cooker might make a difference? The slow cooker would keep it very moist & soft. Or maybe eating ground or shredded beef and chicken might be easier? Ground turkey might work, too.

I made some chicken salad in the beginning that was a very fine texture. I cut a chicken breast up into chunks & ran it through my food processor, which yielded really small pieces. I ran some pine nuts through the same way & mixed together the chicken, pine nuts, a small amount of mayo, a smaller amount of dijon mustard, lemon juice & some fresh chopped basil. I hope you're able to figure something out!

I think my problem is different from Cheryl's Sassy. It isn't just beef I don't like, I also don't like pork or ham. The ONLY meats I have ever liked at all are the ones we aren't supposed to eat, like sausage...and no, turkey sausage doesn't work for me, and I like hot dogs and old fashioned bologna....all of which are unhealthy foods.

Cheryl, did you used to like meat before surgery? I make pork tenderloin in the crock pot for my family and they love it. It is very tender, and they think it smells good..I think it's disgusting LOL.

Faye, you are so lucky to be a meat girl. I wish I were. The diet would be so much easier. I love Protein drinks and have to limit myself to no more than 3/day. I could drink 5 and just skip the food and be quite happy for the most part. My food tastes are weird.

Sassy, How was your Dr Meyers Seminar? I know that was a rough day, and I hope you weren't too exhausted. (Why is it that sometimes I can't start a new paragraph? Like right now it won't let me...sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't??)

Sassy, How was your Dr Meyers Seminar? I know that was a rough day, and I hope you weren't too exhausted. (Why is it that sometimes I can't start a new paragraph? Like right now it won't let me...sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't??)

Thanks for remembering, Jean. I promise to give details later. Right now, I am super busy training for my upcoming SAT project. I just finished practice scoring. Now I move on to passing 2 out of 3 qualifying tests. Once that's over, I'll have more time.

I intend to provide full details. That is ... if anyone other than you and me are still on this forum. I appreciate your posting a lot, especially now that I'm tied up.

SouthernSoul and Cheryl - I'm glad you've checked in and post occasionally. The goal is to have someone respond to every post so that Jean, as she put it, doesn't feel like she's talking to herself.

I'm very concerned about getting this group active. FB is shutting down pages people with animals have put up in their name. And they're doing it with no notice. Somehow they're concerned this hurts advertising. It seems to me there's a chance they'll do the same thing with private groups as well.

While it will take a while to grow our group (and part of that is my fault because I am picky about who becomes a member), it will in the end be all worth it.

But we can’t do it without you. Are you willing to hang on until it’s more active here? For sure, you can be part of the solution.

Hi All,

I'm happy....I made it through my birthday without eating anything I shouldn't. I am normally very compliant but the birthday is a hard one. Traditionally, Joe takes me to dinner and we share dessert...usually Bread Pudding which is one of my all time faves. We did go to dinner but shared a plate and NO dessert. He offered, but I was strong and declined:) Now on to Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.....I can do this!!!

First off, apologies to all for being absent lately. I have run into a serious wrinkle in my SAT work, and it has all my attention til I get it fixed.

Jean, I knew it was your birthday and kept waiting until I could send you a "proper" greeting. That will have to wait. In the meantime, congratulations on making it another year. ha ha ha. That's my improper reply.

Cheryl, please put your posts in this thread so all can see and reply. Good job, though.

That's all for now. Later ... That's Ms. Sassy to you. LOL

Edited October 14, 201312 yr by SassySenior

Happy belated birthday, Jean. Like you, I'm normally pretty compliant with my dietary guidelines, but I admit I enjoyed about 3 bits of chocolate cake on our anniversary a couple of weeks ago. I'm also wondering about the holidays. Personally, I think the occasional indulgence is fine, but I also know that not everybody feels comfortable with that. Too easy to start down a slippery slope, perhaps. I wonder if the holidays will be easier with physical restriction??

Somehow I missed these last 2 posts until just now. Sorry for my absence. Thanks for the birthday wishes Faye. I am down to losing only 1# per month, so I will have to be very careful with the holidays. I'm not looking forward to it really. I am so compliant and I log every bite that I eat.

Faye, I also just noticed your "after" pic on your profile. Isn't that new? You look great!

Sassy,hope all is well with you, I know you are busy scoring SAT's!

I've had a really busy week and next week is going to be crazy. I'm retired and it seems like I am still quite busy....wasn't expecting that, but it's ok. I don't get bored.

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Linda,

Welcome to our group. We are thrilled that you’ve joined us. Our group is small and intimate because we don’t promote it. So you kind of have to find us … which you did! Hubby can join, too, because this is open to all. We’ve had a couple of guys join, but never stay, it would be nice to have your guy bring that male perspective.

Meet (in alphabetical order) …

Cheryl … who’s dropped an amazing 90 lbs. and manages to keep temptation at bay and hold her own, no matter how much her hubby tries to go back to old ways. She’s a very sweet and thoughtful gal.

Coco, a/k/a Connie, drops by occasionally, and always has something interesting to contribute.

Faye … our youngest boomer, has dropped 75 lbs. and looks amazing! She is working on a master’s degree, married for 5 years to her love, Tony, with whom she dreams up gourmet delights.

Then there’s Jean, our own nurse, who loves spending time with her granddaughter, Hailey. Retired from a career as a nurse, Jean has a hidden spirit of glee and is very active responding to posts. I recently nominated her to be a VP of something (can’t remember what, Jean probably doesn’t either.) <laughing>

And me, Sassy, who started the group and gotten close to several members. Aside from my dry wit, which gets me in trouble a lot, I am a retired freelance writer. Right now, I earn extra money scoring the SAT from home a couple of times a year.

You’re our 28th member, and if hub joins, that’ll make it 29. Do you have a surgery date yet? .As you can read in the post below, I am just announcing mine.

Note: Be sure to click “Follow this topic” at the top of every page so you can be notified when new posts appear. Go into your “settings” (top right under your name)and check the box for “notifications by email.” When you come online, you’ll see your name and to the left are several icons. One is an envelope, and the other is a person. Both will have red numbers when you have either a personal message or a notification to read!

Edited October 16, 201312 yr by SassySenior

I Have a Surgery Date.

I am leading off the month of November by having my VSG done on the 1st. This final announcement has been a long time coming. I don't know why I had to have soooo many problems trying getting this surgery scheduled. In March, it'll be 3 years.

Initially, I was going to get the lap band, and I went to a seminar by Dr. David Provost in 2010. He had been referred to as the best WLS surgeon around. At the time I weighed 425, so I certainly wanted the best.

I jumped through all hoops, completing my 3 mo. diet a year ago in October. Along the way, I had to put off surgery twice. I waited 1 ½ yrs. for Medicare to approve the Sleeve, which they finally did in Feb. 2013.

One of many wrinkles popped up, and I had to redo cardiac tests and get a cardiac clearance in February. For some reason, the results and clearance were lost until August 2013. Once found, my surgery was scheduled for Sept. 23. I did the 2-week pre-op diet and went to a Sept. 20 pre-op visit. That's when the surgery stalled again. My doctor had a meltdown when I told him I was still taking Ibuprophen. I didn't know I was supposed to stop before surgery. His reaction was so severe, I considered changing surgeons.

So I attended another doctor's seminar on Oct. 4. Yesterday, I finally learned that I would have to redo the 3-month "medically supervised" WLS diet if I went with the new surgeon. In the interim, I also continued to reschedule the surgery again with my original doctor in case I went that way.

Long story … shorter ... I am going with my original surgeon and beginning another pre-op diet Friday. Even this week, another major wrinkle cropped up when my BFF, Martha, voiced displeasure at the dates I had scheduled. To please her, I rescheduled all the dates for the Nutrition Seminar, pre-op visit and surgery. The new dates conflict with my SAT scoring, but that is what I had to do to Iron out this last wrinkle. I'm beginning the pre-op diet on Friday, and scoring the SAT at the same time. It takes 100% focus to do this work, so I can't imagine how I'll be with so little to eat. food for thought, and all that …

My life has been filled with stress for a while now, and I don't do well under stress. Often, I get sick and wind up in the hospital. But so far, so good. The side effect, though, is that it's been difficult to get everything done to prepare for the post-op. I don't have my Vitamins, and all the foods (liquids) I need.

P.S. I just lost 3 lbs., for a pre-op loss of 49 lbs.

Edited October 16, 201312 yr by SassySenior

How exciting that this group will have 3 surgeries in November!!!

Sassy, congratulations! It is finally going to happen for you :). You are going to love it on the losers bench.

Same for Linda and hubby...you will love the sleeved side. I have never had one regret. I hope it will be smooth sailing for all 3 of you. It was so easy for me, and I wish the same to all of you...but even if there are bumps, it will be worth it. You will lose weight like you have never lost before.

Am I the only one of this group who has to endure winter? I can't remember where you live, Cheryl, but I think the rest of you live someplace with warm winters. I know you do, Sassy. Let me just say how very envious I am! I hate winter. Right now it is autumn and the high temps are in the lower 60's, which isn't bad. By November I will be wishing for a weather remote so I could fast forward to April:)

Hope everyone has a great evening!

Sassy, congrats on finally getting a date! I'm glad that you ended up deciding to stick with your original surgeon. I know his meltdown was awful, but you had learned so much great info about him and it would have been so hard to start over with somebody new. I hope you're able to get everything done before the surgery. I remember also being so crazy busy in those last weeks with class, court, doctor's appts, etc...thank God for Amazon & the Amazon Prime free 2 day shipping.

Jean, thanks for noticing the new pic & yes, it's new. That was from last Saturday night. I guess I like posting an "In Progress" more than waiting for the final "After". It's taken 70 lbs, but I am finally able to see the changes in myself. It's very weird how our eyes don't seem to catch up for quite awhile. I knew in my head I was changing...smaller clothes, numbers down on the scale, less pain when I walk, etc.....but I couldn't see it in the mirror for the longest time. I still can't see it in my face, but at least I can see it somewhere.