My husband and I are newlyweds (May 10th, 2008) and this weekend we found out that his family expects us to host Thanksgiving at our house - you know, since we're the "newest part of the family", or some crap like that. Here's the snag - I'm getting my band exactly 21 days before Thanksgiving. :embaressed_smile:

Going to someone else's house for Thanksgiving and eating very little would have been tough, but I'd have managed. Now, not only will I have to eat the food, but I have to prepare it!!!!! Refusing to host Thanksgiving is pretty much out of the question. There's no excuse I could come up with short of death that would keep me out of the kitchen on that day.

So my question is - how do I handle this? What are some Thanksgiving dishes I can make that will fit into my Mushies Phase but won't be obvious? I think it sort of goes without saying that most of the people in attendance on Thanksgiving Day will not know about my surgery, so I need to make sure I don't draw any attention to myself.

Can I eat dark meat turkey (it's moister than white meat) during my Mushies Phase, as long as I chew it 30+ times before swallowing? I know I can eat mashed potatoes and apple sauce, but what else?

HELP! :cool2:

Jaime,

Overall, I'm glad the day went so well. I am sorry tho that you had such a hard time. Good for you for actually STOPPING!!!

I think a lot of us are amazed at what catches us by surprise. We all think we're so ready- we've read everything we can find, we've researched til there's no more to research, we've looked deep inside ourselves to make sure we're READY for all of this! In spite of hearing other people tell their stories, we're all different and some things are going to surprise us.

I've been surprised with a few things. The least of which was how much I ate just b/c I wanted it. I always thought I ate b/c I was hungry all the time! Turns out Hungry wasn't the only time I ate! I've also been surprised at how hard it is to slow down. If I'm allowed (I have a 2 1/2 yr old DD) I have to sit and watch the clock while I eat. If I don't, I'm eating in 5-10 minutes, not the 20 that I should be taking to eat!

Hang in there. Do your mourning for food but also remember that it's really only the QUANTITY that you're mourning. We should be able to just about eat anything, it's just in much smaller amounts!

I did some of the same things. Things were so good, I would have just kept eating before surgery. This year I couldn't and I was thrilled later when I got away from the IDEA of the food!

I weigh in on Fridays and managed to still lose almost a pound this week. Last year, if I'd have weighed on Friday, it would have shown a significant gain! How COOL is that!!

You've got to find those little victories and make them exciting and happy for you! I think you did a great job!

Sounds like you pulled it off beautifully! Great job!

You know, we all have those moments where we mourn food, but I have found that as I lose the weight, the mourning is replaced by excitement. I only have 20 lbs left til goal and the feeling is incredible.

Good luck as you continue on your journey.........

Justmel is right!! I mourned food for a good 2 months. But now it is just "part of the life". I enjoy pretty much anything (though sometimes bread and salads do not agree with me) but just much smaller amounts. And... that is sooo exciting. I am down 68 pounds and have 32 to go. I have no doubts now that I can reach goal when at one time it seemed so hopeless. Glad you had an otherwise ok holiday, next year will be different. good luck and keep us posted!!!!