LouiseC

Okay I have just been reading about the nutritional benefits of turkey. I may have to track down a local supplier!

Yes I have noticed here people talk about it a lot! But it is uncommon here and good quality, free range turkeys are very expensive. It is possible to get turkey outside of Christmas season but it costs!

Here in NZ we really only eat turkey at Christmas. We do have chicken bacon though which is pretty much the same thing.

I make spaghetti bolognaise and then I just have the meat sauce with some parmesan. I will make a casserole in the slow cooker (it is still winter here, one more week till spring) and while they will have mashed potatoes or bread I just have the meat and veg. I make chilli and then they can have tortillas or nachos or whatever and I just have the chilli with a bit of cheese. I do make the Emily bites 'cupcakes' and everyone loves them. I will make a chicken chasseur with mushrooms, spinach and some sweet potato. I can only eat very little of this though for some reason. I grill lamb leg steaks and just have the meat while others have potatoes and veg. I occasionally have a good quality steak, eye fillet usually and grass fed, and again I just have the meat and make sides for others. I have made small meatballs with minced venison and had these with a dipping sauce and the family can have pita bread and salad to fill. I make curries often and just don't have the rice or noodles. The options really are endless it just means stepping outside the rut we find ourselves in. I enjoy the recipes on www.healthyfood.co.nz and adjust to remove or lower the carb for my own portion.

I get the slimes and the foams. it is gross and I have not found a remedy. I am certain it is when something I have eaten has triggered a reaction so the body starts producing liquid to wash it through the stomach easier. But as there is no room in the stomach it has to come up. I note the signs now, usually I start to cough, and then remove myself to the bathroom for the inevitable slime. I try tokeepitdown but sometimes it is just too much and I spit it up. Gross,, yes. But not as gross as me when I was morbidly obese. Worth every slime to be slim :-)

Sparkling mineral Water in a champagne glass then

Wonderful!

Sometimes I ask for water flavoured with a dash of lime juice in a wine glass, it makes me feel like I am not missing out on anything :-)

Sugar makes me feel drunk these days. It has only taken a few episodes to turn me of sugar completely. Even looking at sweets now makes me feel nauseous.

I survived by realising these occasions were actually about celebrating friends and family and not about eating and drinking. It was hard, but making the conscious shift in how I thought about these occasions helped a lot. It is another reminder of what is important, my health, well being, family and friends.

I was given codeine in the hospital and for post surgery pain management when I got home. Only thing to watch for is constipation.

If you are a happy atheist like me, then you will likely find 12 step based programmes frustrating. I have no doubt that they work for hundreds of thousands of people who believe they are addicted to something. I don't knock what gets others through their life in one piece. However I also know that for those of us who do not believe in something external to us having control (god, universe, higher power) that these programmes have little impact. I consider I am the creator of my own destiny. I consider I have the power to chose, actively and consciously, how I react and respond to my life. I consider I have the control. It means that I do not believe in addiction because addiction by its very definition gives control to something external to the self. And that clashes with my fundamental value system. So I beat my drug and cigarette habits by taking control, not surrendering it, and i am doing the same with food I hope this makes sense. I know my view is very much in the minority but it works for my life.

I have one every morning for breakfast. Frozen berries, soy isolate protein powder and lactose free milk. Yum.

I used a teaspoon and didn't bother to buy new cutlery. I did buy a small rice bowl and side plate to use to manage portions though.

I also add spinach and grated carrot to chillis and minced beef dishes. My emily bites lasagna cupcakes and taco cupcakes both have 'hidden' spinich and carrot!

I love my veges! I am someone who even when at my fattest loved whole foods, organic foods and fesh fruit and veg. Everyday I add berries to my morning Protein shake and blend it all up. Sometimes I add other fruit that is in season (this morning it was tamarillo). It is easier to drink blended and doesn't remove the pulp like juice which means my fibre is up. I go for low carb fruits like berries, melon, peaches and tamarillos. I make a Soup in the weekend using as many vegetables as I can, again the non starchy vegetables, and go for as many different colours as I can to up the anti oxidants. Last week it was cauliflower, broccoli, edamame, spinach, carrots (orange & purple), courgettes, and red and yellow peppers. I cook this up in stock and season well. Then I blitz it! I freeze one cup portions and strive to microwave one a day for a snack adding one to two wedges of laughing cow cheese which i stir through to make it creamy. With the cheese and the edamame it is a decent protein serve as well. Again, being bltized, it is easy to consume.

Sorry to hear that your life has hit a bumpy patch in the road. I have always found that it is these bumpy Patches that test my strength of character. It is easy to follow a healthy regime when all is well in my world. But when times are tough and I can still follow my regime? That is where it feels really good. That is the time when I know I am actually making the life changes necessary to see me healthy in my future. let go of the fear by taking control. Choose wisely, actively and consciously. remember everything you put in your mouth is a choice you make and a choice that is within your power and control. Other things in your life may feel outside your control right now, but this doesn't mean you have to let your food choices enter that same space. You decide, every meal, every snack, every drink. It is up to you - know that you can do it. You have done it before and lost 50 pounds. 50 pounds! That is outstanding. You can do this.

Yes. I am not proud to admit it but I do feel ill sometimes watching others eat. The sheer volume of food people consume astounds me. In restaurants the portion sizes others get seem ridiculous and to see someone consume it is almost unbeleiveable. Of course I know somewhere in the recesses of my brain that I used to eat like that (and then some) but it doesn't stop me feeling that disgust. I often have to look away. I try not to say anything and try to keep a poker face as I don't want to offend others but have to admit with my husband I am less circumspect! I have said "OMG you are NOT going to EAT that are you?" and other similar expressions of horror and disgust at his food choices. I have read a bit about cellular memory since the surgery and I am more and more convinced that the memory of food was mostly cellular for me and was mostly removed with the 85% of my stomach. I really can't recall being hungry, can't recall wanting to eat, and while on some level I know I used to feel excited at the prospect of a big meal I just can't recall what that felt like. Maybe I am a freak. I don't see other sleevers talking this way!

I took two weeks but ended up going back early. I was feeling fine and being at home just bored me! By the two week point I was actually flying to out of town meetings and had no issues at all. I was more tired than normal at the end of the day but other than that I had no issues.

Terrible photo with the iPad but look at the seatbelt! That is the excess once I pulled it in. Presurgery I was struggling to do it up and on the border of asking for an extension belt. Today, I got to tighten it. And LOOK!

YES! I hadn't even realised this until I read your post. There were no tray table issues at all. I love this sleeve.

Thank you! I fly regularly for my work and on the small planes was at the point of asking for the extension belt. On the bigger planes I could get it done up but sometimes it was a real squeeze. I had noticed it was getting easier and easier but it was only yesterday I looked at the excess belt and it sunk in. See I forgot to measure myself presurgery. I weighed, but never measured. I wish I had done this. There was something so unexpected about looking at the inches on that belt and realising that this is what I have lost from my girth. I am certain the guy next to me was wondering why I was trying to take a photo of my lap while giggling and twittering to myself with glee!