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I so hear you. I tend to make small handmade pizzas in the oven to satisfy my craving. That and pizza-like egg fritatas as excellent as well. Chips..well..im gonna try to do red beet chips in the oven soon. I miss crunchy salt snacks. Bread...well..bread is my soulmate who abuses me, so I try to stay away from it other than high fiber stuff once in a while.

Very helpful, informative book for those of us who like to read, hi-light, underline and review. Dr. Matthew Weiner, M.D., bariatric surgeon explains one surgery vs. another including revisions, why some lose faster than others, why some are more successful over time than others. Not preachy nor judgmental in any way, just factual. Explains how our bodies go through hormonal changes post-op to establish a new metabolic set point. 150 pages, easy read in one sitting. $11.99 on Amazon for paperback. Well worth it!

yes - I've liked several of those Real Good Foods frozen meals...(esp the enchiladas)

I’m extremely picky too and honestly didn’t realize it had a chicken wrap when I first tried it. I was hesitant every time I saw it in the store to even try it. But then finally said ok just try it. The first time I made it I put it in the oven and didn’t see it said keep it in the pan it comes in I put it on foil but it tasted much better that way. I thought I would be grossed out but was surprised the chicken wrap is very thin and not overpowering. I think if it was microwaved I wouldn’t like it though. I haven’t tried the cauliflower pizza yet. Too high calorie for me and not sure how it would reheat. I rarely eat meat anymore but did find this good, I probably would prefer a veggie based wrap but I’ll take what I can get since it fits my calorie range, is very low carb and filling. Plus it’s 20 grams protein. Which is awesome.

Hello, all! I haven't posted in a while but I'm back (for now, hahaha). I had RNY in January 2019 and I'm sitting around 274. I've lost about 145 pounds since the surgery but I've been in a weird headspace about it since I'm not yet at goal. I think I put myself in maintenance and have gone back to basics in terms of lowering my caloric intake, watching my macros, and making sure I get at least 64 oz of fluid in. Hopefully I hit goal by the time my 2 year surgiversary rolls around, but until then, I'm celebrating all of the small victories. The best ones to date? I had a doctor's appointment today and the arm cuff fit around my upper arm! And my blood pressure was great, well within normal ranges! I was able to fit in the chair that you sit in to give blood. Being able to let that arm down and have ample space to get situated felt unreal. I told my doctor that I wanted to start TTC next year and he told me that he didn't see any issue with me trying. I could've cried when he told me that. All I've ever wanted was to be a mom and that was my reason for getting surgery; to be healthy enough to become a mother and be able to raise my kids into adulthood. I'm also getting rid of clothes that I'd been saving because I couldn't fit them before surgery and they're now too big. All of that to say, don't let the number on the scale discourage you! It may not be moving the way you want it to, but you are so much more than the number on the scale and the changes you're making will impact your life in ways the scale won't/can't reflect.

I like the Cauliflower pizza by Real Good Foods, but a lot of their other product use chicken as the 'crust' or 'tortilla shell' and that grosses me out. I'm really weird about food. Like, really weird, as I'm an extremely picky eater and always have been. But yeah, the Cauliflower pizza gets a thumbs up from me.

I haven't completely lost my sweet tooth, but I definitely have an aversion to many different sweets. Candy bars seems gross. I did however, have a few jelly beans on Easter, and they tasted yummy. Before, I would have wanted one of the Reese's eggs instead, but not anymore. I used to eat McDonalds at least 3x a week (how else do you think I got so fat? LOL). I haven't even thought about going there, it just seems gross. Sadly, I still have cravings for pizza, potato chips, and bread.

Thanks! Yes, I am definitely relieved. I will still be "tentative" until I get confirmation from the Urologist... but I feel so much more confident already. And we all know even if I have a bad kidney disease, you only need 1 good one to have a good quality of life. I have 1 good one for sure! I was telling my bosses... after the first report my husband and I went out and he bought me some cute new "you have cancer" outfits lol. You have to know my husband to know he is a cheapskate and hates buying new clothing.... but he was trying to help me feel better and distracted. After I got my CT results we were looking for shoes for me, and now because he encouraged me... I also have several new pairs of "I don't have cancer" shoes lol. And of course now the novelty has worn off so I don't get to go shopping (with his approval) for quite a while lmao. Don't get me wrong... I buy what I want, when I want to... but not when he is around because he is such a cheapskate lol. For him to buy me nice clothes and shoes means he was very worried and then very relieved.

So, yesterday was my 6 month gastric surgery anniversary. And Holy Crap. Yesterday was a rollercoaster of emotions for me. I started the day feeling pretty good. Went to the Cardiologist. He was so happy for my weight loss. He wanted me to lose weight, but didn't know about the VSG. He was impressed with how much weight I lost so fast. He also commented I look great and was shocked I don't look "sickly" at all due to the rapid weight loss like many patients he sees. He was thrilled with my increased physical activity and my plans to hike the "Camino de Santiago" in Spain this summer. (It is a "pilgrimage" where you walk literally across Northern Spain or another route to Santiago de Compostela). We discussed my tachycardia and sometimes low blood pressure. He is having me reduce my dosage to half a pill (YAY!). We discussed my cholesterol and medication for it. I told him of my desire to attempt to go off it for a while to see if I can keep my lipid panel numbers in check without it now that I lost all my excess weight and am eating much healthier. We agreed that I will stay on it for 6 more months and then do labs. If my numbers are good, he will let me go off them and see how my labs hold up. I acknowledged to him that I know if they do go back on them, then I will have to take it for the rest of my life... he was happy with that compromise. On top of all that already great news... I asked him about my EKG which I had already looked at myself (I am a former trauma nurse, I know how to read them). He confirmed what I already knew... my EKG was NORMAL!!! Now this is HUGE because the reason I decided to look into WLS in the first point was because I was worried about my heart. At my appointment with him in fall 2018, my EKG showed that I had an enlarged Left Ventrical for the first time. I had an echocardiogram several months later that confirmed the EKG findings. THIS is the reason I insisted on getting weight loss surgery in the first place. My heart was working too hard and was beginning to enlarge. This was unacceptable. This was my reason to stop "trying" to lose weight and for making sure I "did" lose weight. So here I am... 1 1/2 years after identifying that my heart was enlarging.... and all my excess weight is GONE and my enlarged heart is GONE TOO! OMG, I left the cardiologist office on such a high note, I practically floated home lol. And I called my husband with so much excitement. It was a great day. Until..... During the drive home from my cardiologist I got an e-mail from the radiology office. I saw the e-mail when I stopped to exchange some pants at Old Navy. Some of you may recall I posted recently that my bilirubin levels had been rising since surgery. I normally have a high normal to slightly high bilirubin level. It is something that I have monitored my entire adult life. But since surgery, my bilirubin keeps getting higher. I saw my lab results before my bariatric surgeon did. I printed the results, wrote a note to my regular nurse practitioner, and dropped them off at her office. She called a couple hours later and agreed that we need to do an ultrasound to check my gallbladder and liver out. I did that Tuesday and was told that the results would not be available until Friday. Except now it is Wednesday, the next day, and I get a text that my results were available online. Again, I saw the results before either my general nurse practitioner or the bariatric surgeon. And what I read was devastating. My liver and gallbladder are just fine (weird... so why is my bilirubin elevated?). But I have a fairly large mass in my Left Kidney! I have a flippin TUMOR in my kidney! And they recommended on my report that I get a CT Scan or an MRI to further assess it. They used 2 terms to describe what kind of mass it appears to be. Both terms used, are the kind of masses that are cancerous 85% of the time. And even if it ISN'T cancer.... the mass is big enough that I know the first line of treatment is either a partial or total nephrectomy. Holy Crap. Add to that, I know that my grandfather wasn't much older than me when he had kidney cancer and had HIS left kidney removed. And I figure out all of this within 5 minutes, because as a Registered Nurse I already know too much. Still... I keep my **** together and calmly (but unnerved) drive home. I get home, I refill my water, I sit for a minute quitely before I call my husband over to talk. He is a Registered Nurse too... and I told him there is a mass on my Kidney and he made the same assessment I did... only he is much more panicked about it than I am. He wants to rush over to the nurse practitioners office NOW. I told him I want to wait a little bit so she can have time to look at the report first. Then I noticed a missed call from her. How I missed it, is beyond me... but she must have called in the 1 - 1 minute dead zone on my way home. What luck. And BTW, she doesn't make patient phone calls normally DURING her work schedule... she calls after she sees all her patients for the day. I know this because that is when she ALWAYS calls me for results. This was unusual for her. I knew she was worried before I even spoke to her. I called back and got a voicemail. (husband still panicking and wanting to rush over). I called a couple more times and got through to her. Instead of waiting for her to slowly break the news... I let her know I just saw the report and I know I had a mass on my kidney and that my liver and gallbladder were fine. This helped speed up her getting to the point... I needed a CT Scan and a referral to a specialist. She was at the same conclusion I was... it is a tumor and there is a good chance it is cancerous. I don't think she was going to say the "C" word yet... but after I mentioned it, she agreed. Now... my referrals always take a week. ALWAYS take a week to get back so I can schedule an appointment. So, I asked my husband if we can go for a walk somewhere. Well THAT was a disaster lol... because I got several calls from the referral lady and within an hour or so of my phone call to the NP about the results... I was running to the radiology office to pick up barium to drink for my CT scan on FRIDAY. Friday. The day I was supposed to be getting these results back, and now I am going in for a CT Scan already. Talk about FAST RESPONSE! The fact that she rushed this so much and managed to get me in to the radiologist office so soon just confirms how worried my NP really is, so that is totally stressful! Still don't know what specialist I will be seeing, but by the time I get that referral I will have results in hand from the scan, so that is good. On the plus side... I already know the rest of my abdominal organs are fine according to the Ultrasound. The CT scan will look more closely at all of it... but I don't have any reason to believe if it IS cancer that it metastasized. But now I have to gear up to drink a ton of barium (um... no clue how I will get this all in... I am only 6 months post op!). And now I have to deal with a tumor that could be cancerous and I might need a kidney partially or completely removed. Chemo is very unlikely, but radiation or other treatments might be needed. And on top of all that I still need an MRI for my L Knee because I might have a torn meniscus that might need surgery and definitely need physical therapy. And I am SUPPOSED to walk across Spain starting May 25th. Yay me. I thought I was THISCLOSE to being healthy again and all this **** happens! And how much you want to bet the Coronavirus hits my city hard right about the same time I need 1-2 more surgeries! Not afraid of the Coronavirus... except my immune system will be already under attack if I need a kidney removed!