DLCoggin

You might want to give Kellogg Special K Cracker Chips a try. They come in several flavors and about 110 calories for 27 chips. I eat them anytime I would have formerly had french fries or chips. Really tasty! You can find them in Vons and also on Amazon.

Just emailed!

Just emailed!!

Just emailed!

Just emailed!

Just emailed!

Just emailed!

Just emailed!

Just emailed!

Just emailed!

Just emailed!

Just emailed Shannon!

I took no offense at all! Envious in some ways but certainly not offended!! No worries!

We actually had a little "smoothie party" after we got the Vitamix. We made some veggies smoothies, dessert smoothies (with frozen fruit), green smoothies, orange julius smoothies (with splenda), sorbet smoothies - you name it. There are TONS of smoothie recipes on the net. Name a veggie, fruit, nut, or flavor and there are lots of recipes. Also some excellent savory recipes for Soups and sauces. Frozen drinks (with or without alcohol). Salsa. Ice cream made with soy or almond milk. If you purchase a separate container you can make your own fluor from any grain. The versatility of this machine is actually quite impressive. Vitamix took a different approach to blending. Most blenders have sharp blades which require less power to do the blending. The problem is that the blades dull which results in excessive wear on the motor and eventual burnout. Vitamix blades are "dull" right out of the box. But they power the blades with a 2hp motor. The result is that it will liquify just about anything you can imagine to a perfect consistency. Many fruits and veggies don't even have to be peeled. A definite advantage from a nutrition standpoint since many of the Vitamins are in the peel. I sound like a Vitamix commercial! Lol. I really don't own any stock. But it's refreshing to buy a product that will do what it says it will do and do it well.

Some very good tips here - healthy responses to triggers, relaxation techniques, focusing on your own behavior, and my personal favorite, reminding yourself of your why! Good stuff!

I'm just over a year post-op and the only regret that I have is that I didn't do it 20 years earlier. It is major surgery. There are risks. There are no guarantees and there are no absolutes. I'm sure you'll hear from some folks who have experienced complications and may have regrets. But statistically speaking, the odds are overwhelmingly in your favor of having a truly life changing experience that you will never regret. After living with obesity and all of the associated comorbidities for many years, it is difficult to put into words how truly amazing the benefits of this surgery are. You're gonna love the new you!

I have a Vitamix as well and they are indeed very expensive. But I've never seen any other blender that will do what it does - amazing. I've only had mine for a couple of months but my brother has had his for 15+ years and it's still going strong. Almost all others are less expensive but if you plan on using it a lot (and you will), paying more is somewhat offset by the fact that you would likely go through several less expensive blenders over the years. Vitamix has a great site with a number of demo videos, recipes, etc. They also do regular in-store demos at Costcos and some other major stores and the prices are usually reduced if you purchase it at one of their demos. Overall an excellent and versatile kitchen tool.

Welcome Nicole! I think that you'll find you are definitely in the right place. There are a lot of terrific folks on this forum and we're all on the same journey. None of us know it all but we all have something to contribute! Have a terrific Thanksgiving and please keep us posted on your progress!!

Ladies you are all remarkable examples of what it means to be a wife and a mom and I salute every one of you. RNY is not about vanity and selfishness. They don't even make the top 100 reasons for having this surgery. RNY is about dramatically improving your health. Dramatically improving your life span. Dramatically improving the quality of your life. Dramatically improving the things that you can do and enjoy with your family. Dramatically improving your self esteem. Dramatically improving your outlook on life. Yes, you are going to love the new you! And yes, your family and those who care about you are going to as well!! You are all heroes in every sense of the word!!

Good job!! Love it when someone says they're resisting that temptation to weigh every day!! Huge congratulations!!

In an article published June 20th of this year, the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS which is the governing body for Centers of Excellence) says... "Studies from Stanford University, Cleveland Clinic Florida and the Naval Medical Center in San Diego show laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, an increasingly popular surgical procedure where the stomach is reduced by 85 percent, is as safe as or safer than laparoscopic gastric bypass or gastric banding." "In one study, Stanford University researchers analyzed safety data from nearly 270,000 metabolic and bariatric surgeries performed between 2007 and 2010. Nearly 16,000 of the procedures were sleeve gastrectomies, which had a 30-day serious complication rate of less than one percent (0.96%), compared to a rate of 1.25 percent for gastric bypass and one-quarter of one percent (0.25%) for gastric banding." "The 30-day mortality rate for sleeve gastrectomy was 0.08 percent, while the rate for gastric bypass was 0.14 percent and 0.03 percent for gastric banding. These mortality and complication rates are lower than those typically associated with gallbladder or hip replacement surgery." "Gastric bypass resulted in the most average weight loss after one year. The average body mass index (BMI) after this procedure dropped by about 40 percent (47.7 to 31.2). Sleeve gastrectomy patients experienced about a 30 percent drop (47.5 to 34.1), while gastric band patients had a 20 percent reduction (45.1 to 37.5)." "The rate of a gastrointestinal leak, considered a serious complication, was three-tenths of one percent (0.3%) for sleeve gastrectomy versus four-tenths of one percent (0.4%) for gastric bypass patients. The percentage of procedures requiring reoperations due to complications was 15.3 percent for the gastric band, 7.7 percent for gastric bypass and 1.5 percent for sleeve gastrectomy." "A third study on sleeve gastrectomy conducted by the Naval Medical Center in San Diego found while gastric bypass patients lost more of their excess weight after the first year, 72.3 percent versus 63.7 percent, there were no statistically significant differences in excess weight loss after two and five years. This study examined 486 patients, half had gastric bypass and half had sleeve gastrectomy." Full Article Bear in mind that 0.08 percent means eight patients for every 10,000. 0.14 percent = 14 patients for every 10,000. A doctor may have very good reasons for encouraging a patient to have one surgery or the other but statistically speaking, the mortality and complication rates for either surgery are very, very low. No matter how you slice it, the odds are overwhelmingly in your favor.

Just emailed!

Just emailed!!

Just emailed!

Just emailed!!