I'm an immigrant from Mexico. I grew up eating all the "wrong", yet delicious things my mom cooked. Anyone out there with a similar experience who can share how they cope with this new lifestyle?

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I'm not Mexican but I grew up on good old southern style county cooking......with lots of basically meat and potatoes....Our meals were full of high fat, high carb foods.

You just have to make up your mind to change. Unfortunately there is no trick....you just have to make up your mind you're going to eat healthier and then do it.....you can also work on making some of your favorite traditional dishes more healthy by making healthy substitutions. .....don't expect it to be the same as the original, but more of an alternative. Good luck!!!

Thanks!!

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cooking light is a magazine/web site that has taught me a lot about making favorites healthier. It can be a challenge, but worth it.

I'm Mexican. We ate lots of healthy foods, I just ate too much of all of it.

My staples are carnitas, carne asada, guacamole, Beans, queso fresco, salsa...

I avoid tortillas, masa, rice.

There are healthy and unhealthy options in every culture. Protein is protein, carbs are carbs,

I am a Texan, and in general I'd avoid rice like the plague-use it as sparingly as salt. Forget the tortillas and that stupid "two corn equals one flour tortilla" idea. Fill up the plate with lettuce or nopal and then put on your meats.

I haven't had surgery yet, but I already see Mexican food being a point of sadness for me..

Stick with the proteins and vegetables and avoid the starches (rice, chips, tortilla's), etc.

Oh there are still so many things you will be able to eat. Steak or chicken fajitas with bell pepper and onions wrapped in lettuce. Bean chips and salsa or queso. Guacamole, menudo, calavasas con Chile y queso. Chiles rellenos, ceviche, frijoles charros. Just use coconut oil or olive oil for frying.

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I am not Mexican however I grew up eating like crap, tons of fast food and soda and junk food galore. My mom would open all kinds of processed food for dinner and the idea of making it "healthy" was to add a side salad to whatever was served. I grew up literally addicted to sugar, grease, and caffeine. I had to just get to the point where I realized that I am worth making the choice to eat better and eat lean meats and vegetables and turn away from the rest. I say I went through a detox period where I truly went through withdrawals from the caffeine and sugar but once I was past it I have done very well in my opinion by losing right at 120 lbs now in just about 8 months. Mexican food is my favorite and like others have said just modify the way you eat things and avoid most of the carb heavy items.

You can still have your beans... No lard no oils I cook mine with 4 slices of bacon.... ( for the entire family...) I use green chili sauce to make green chili pork... I dont eat any tortillas or rice but there are still lots of good hispanic food dishes you can have... asada... careful with the veggies after as I was told not to eat to much of them as it will be hard for the sleeve to process them... but you can make posole... lots of good things.... it's not as bad as you think it is... at first its hard... But I can eat spicy foods and they don't bother me at all... everyone is a little different so when you get back on the regular diet.. you experiment with what foods your body can handle and which ones it can't... sadly no more tamales for me either and I adore them but let me tell you its worth it.... . you can do this!

... careful with the veggies after as I was told not to eat to much of them as it will be hard for the sleeve to process them...

Whuuuuut?

yeah I was told I can't have them until a year out.. seriously... I was told to be light with fruit as well... I dunno... just following my diet. I do see a new nut here in Idaho where I moved to a few months ago... but i admit to missing them. Because I am so new out of wls I was told to pretty much make sure I get in the protein and that's it...

Cari, that's incorrect.

Period.

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yeah I was told I can't have them until a year out.. seriously... I was told to be light with fruit as well... I dunno... just following my diet. I do see a new nut here in Idaho where I moved to a few months ago... but i admit to missing them. Because I am so new out of wls I was told to pretty much make sure I get in the Protein and that's it...

Based on some of the things you've stated that your surgeon has told you, I think it might be a great idea to preface your posts with, "My surgeon told me..." or something similar instead of stating it as fact.

He's told you some whacked stuff. Seriously.

@@Cari Dickenson, early on, your sleeve may be too swollen and not producing enough gastric enzymes yet to process raw veggies easily, but one veggie is not the same as another. Tomatoes (cut up) and shredded lettuce were easy for me from about 8 weeks out. I often make a batch of taco chicken for the week and eat it over shredded lettuce with tomatoes, salsa, and a little light sour cream. Mini taco salads are muy bueno.

I am 12 weeks out today, and I got a salad from my fave place for lunch. I got a half-portion of the salad, and ate about a third of that. I'll have more tomorrow for lunch. It has lettuce, carrots, mushrooms, cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes (along with chicken, a half an egg, some avocado, and a sprinkle of bacon). No trouble digesting it whatsoever.

Vegetables are encouraged on my plan. I have never made any authentic Mexican food but I would think it'll be easier to find options than with Italian food.