Soup-a-Woman

And as you'll see from the post, I had this ridiculously huge ham leftover from Christmas. If you have ham, I have a Winter's 15-Bean Soup with Ham for you. Due to the unusual cooking method (oven) the Beans stay intact and the soup remains brothy the way our sleeves like it... the smaller beans don't desintigrate into a mushy mess. http://soup-a-woman.blogspot.com/2012/12/hamzilla-winters-15-bean-soup-with-ham.html

I turned ours into a Spicy Asian and Soba Noodle Soup. Feel free to omit or cut back on the soba noodles if you are avoiding starches. http://soup-a-woman.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-change-of-flavor-spicy-asian-turkey.html

Farro and Dried Cranberry Soup with Kale - a nice creamy and tangy soup for fall with a grain Protein. Lots of vegetarian options here! http://soup-a-woman.blogspot.com/2012/11/procrastination-soup-farro-and-dried.html

Happy to help with soup addiction recipes for anyone who is interested. Right this very minute I'm making a Turkey, Wild Rice, and Cranberry Soup in my head.

I posted about this on an earlier thread, so I'm just going to copy and paste my thoughts from that here... "Here's the info I was given when trying to decide between the two. 1/3 of the time the lap-band works exactly the way the recipient wants it to. 1/3 of the time the lap-band causes you to lose some weight and then no more. 1/3 of the time the lap-band does not work at all. Those are shitty odds for this much money. I have a friend who has the band and is bitter she didn't get sleeved. She's lost 30 pounds out of the 100 she needed to. It's been several years now and it's the way it is. PLUS, I was not interested in the on-going maintenance (fills) the band needed. That's what made me choose sleeve. I'm super glad I did and would do it again in a heartbeat. I just had reconstructive surgery to remove all the excess skin after all the weight loss. That's a nice problem to have."

http://soup-a-woman.blogspot.com/2012/10/confessions-of-soup-hoarder-slow-cooker.html Loving this one. It tastes delicious and is beyond easy! I've been having a little affair with my slow cooker lately. Don't tell Mr. Soup.

I have to say that I don't really worry about on program or off program. I eat what I want, good or bad... I just find that a few bites satisfy me now, so there isn't any binging like I used to. But pancakes. My sleeve does NOT like pancakes. I've tried them twice since I was sleeved and both times I threw them up. Pancakes are now evil.

Would I do it again? In. A. Heartbeat. That's not to say that the first couple of months after surgery weren't rough. They were defo rough. But I'm two years out now and I've lost a whole me. (plus 13 pounds) Best decision I ever made. Ever.

I did have regrets the first couple of months as I had some post-op problems caused by dehydration. I'm a HUGE advocate now of "don't worry about the food so much, worry about drinking your water!" after surgery. In my experience, the food will eventually come, but once you're dehydrated it's a long haul back. However I'm now 2 years post op. I've lost nearly 160 pounds... more than I currently weigh! I look great, I feel great, and I'm happier and healthier than I've ever been. No regrets here at all. New sleevers - stay hydrated!!!!

You boys suck at following directions... jussayin'.

You might have a hard time (if not impossible time) finding Frank's Hot Sauce in Amsterdam. If you use another hot sauce be careful of the amount. Frank's is hot, but is also very vinegary and you can use more than you can with other hot sauces. If you have anyone who ships you food from the US, ask them to throw in a bottle of Frank's next time. Enjoy souping... my daughter was just asking for this chowder the other day, and I haven't made it because I've been doing new Soups for the blog. Hard line to balance!

I went from a DD to a small C, leaving the girls looking like sad deflated hanging straight down balloons. I just had them lifted (not enhanced) and if I do say so myself, they look spectacular. I am very very very happy I had it done.

I had my reconstructive surgery at the same place I was sleeved: Puget Sound Surgical Center. I could go on and on and ON about how wonderful that place is, from the surgeons to the nurses, all the way down to the receptionists. On the day after my reconstructive surgery Dr. Harris stopped by MY HOUSE with his nurse to check on me. Unheard of. I could not stand to NOT do my thighs the way they were. I figured what was the point of having a flat stomach if I wouldn't get in a bathing suit (not a bikini, thankyouverymuch) because of my thighs. I miss swimming. The waterfall of skin running down my thighs had to go. I don't think it added too much to recovery. As far as pain went, stomach hurt the worse BY FAR. A distant 2nd was my thighs and my breasts didn't hurt at all. Dr. Harris said that last one was unusual.

I hadn't seen your blog before, thank you so much for sharing! I particularly agree with #7, that's my experience exactly. I never worry about any of that grams of Protein stuff either. I wish I was better about #8. Ha! Enjoy that happier and healthier life!

MEN - CLOSE YOUR EYES... SCROLL PAST. Having just had my tummy tuck to remove the big overhang of fatty grossness and excess skin... my husband pointed out that when I am standing up and naked, he can now actually see my hoohaw. o-O