Mr. Yoda

No less you count me... then a handsome, short haired, slightly pudgy husband

Since yoda was banded a year earlier than I, and I am her Mister half... what better than...

Miranda... I'll try/... I have been kinda watching ur progress as you are about a month ahead of me. You doing awesome! 28 lbs...cant wait! Thanks... but the people food stage is kinda getting it back on... I have no real restriction yet so I am creeping back... On the other hand, I am visiting all my old haunts for the fabled LAST MEAL before my fill... after the 18th I will be a good boy finally and get serious about loosing! Anyhoo...I saw you put some recipies on pureed stage. I coped them both down. Do you have any more? I am sooo dreading this stage. Your recipes didnt sound half bad so I want to have a few choices. Got anything else to make this stage something I can handle? Lets see... Mexican Chipless Nachos... 1/4 cup refried beans 2 Tbs Salsa 2 Tbs Grated cheese 1Tbs Sour cream spread beans and salsa in a bowl and nuke until hot (covered or there will be a mess to clean up)... sprinkle with cheese and nuke (covered) for about 20 to 30 seconds to melt it... garnish with sour cream (if you like you can add the green stuff as well about 1 Tbs guacamoli(sp?)) or Inside Out Omlette 1/4 cup scrambled eggs 2 Tbs Grated cheese 2 Tbs Ground Ham (or other meats ground up) Cook scrambled eggs and place loosy on plate... mix in meat and Cheese... (you may want to nuke for a couple seconds to melt and warm thru) salt and pepper to taste...also good to have with mashed potatoes as a side... Thats all I can think of at the moment... if any more arise I will be sure to add them here...

I go one week tomorrow... the 18th.

June goals... UMMMmm.... 1 - Survive In-Laws visit in mid-June 2 - Get my fill without crying when they stick me with the needle! :pray: 3 - Survive my first TAT on thursday (no crying will be a bonus) :nervous 4 - Start the exercise part of my band life :frusty: 5 - Support Mrs. Yoda in her June goals :hug: 6 - Stay healthy and happy as the temp rises at work (adv. 130F on nice summer days) :fear: That's not too lofty for a newbie, is it? Did I mention the In-Laws coming????

I am now on people food again and (as the loverboy song says) LOVIN' EVERY MINUTE OF IT!!! Strange the things you miss when you can only mash or puree things... - toast puree... Looked too much like baby poop! - Chinese food in the blender ... the blender came on a hour later.... all by itself!!! - Fries in the blender... just wrong! - Pizza puree... it looked like a frog was in there! - Chicken in the blender... pre-chewed for your enjoyment! - Steak puree... Wrong on SO MANY levels! But now... I can just Chew Chew Chew and enjoy people Food Food Food!

Hi all... I am a May 4th alumni, and yes my first fill is on the 18th of June, after the seminar at 1330hrs. As for Floro, as Mrs Yoda said, if there is a problem like they can't hit the port or such-like, you get to go to S.G and see you inners on TV! As for flipping, I would guess they go back in and re-flip it to the right way and let you heal up again. I myself am doing OK, I had a death in the family a week ago and at the wake later on the 31st, I had some real food, CAREFULLY! and I did OK with it so I continued with solids CAREFULLY! since then. Today is my actual Solid start date, but I have been on it for 4 days already. I have gain a little (about 2 or so pounds) since returning to semi-solid foods, but that is OK, Mostly because I am visiting my fav places and having an unofficial semi-last meal there. I know I can return and have something again but this way if I don't I won't actually be missing anything. I am however doing the protien, veg, then carb, rotaion as recommended by Dr. Yau on the day of my surgery. I am hoping to be fuller sooner this way and thusly reduce the carb intake (since carbs are not overly good for me) it had works for the most part so far. Like tonight, I had chicken Parm with Pasta and salad (ESM) and I had the chicken then salad and had no room for the pasta! I am looking forward to my fill and some restriction, I'm not sure how much I will get yet though. I think the adverage first fill is around 5 cc (about 1/2 full) but I may go lighter as I want to get there gradually and adjust to the increasing restriction as I go. So if you are going to TLBC on 6/18/7, for the 1330 fills, I will see you there! also Mrs. Yoda will be there as she wants to hit a monsterous WINNERS on Bloor st. that day as well.

Thanks everyone for the YAYS! Next will be to get rid of these Diabetic pills and get that under wraps... all in good time!

Mrs. Yoda told me about these NSVs, (non scale victories) and I thought that today I have had one and I should share...:horn: About 5 years ago, I was diagnosed with Hypertension (high BP) :boom:and in a course of one month went from no pills to 2 pills in the AM and 5 pills in the PM to control it and I think it is controled quite well... ONE week after joining the Banded side (You all might remember) my BP fell through the floor and I was dangerously close to hospital time to get it back up. :faint: That day May 10th, I stopped the pills (all of them) for fear of bottoming out and causing real damage to myself. Today, 20 days after banding, my GP told me to throw the pills out as I NO LONGER HAVE HYPERTENSION! :whoo: I have been taken off the 7 pills I was on for 5 years that's 1826 days. and it only took 20 days since banding to get off them. I think that qualifies as a NSV!!! :thumb:

You are not the only one worried about LOSING FOOD! I am a chef and for the past month now I have faked and bluffed my way through food tastings and menu items as I can't have them right now. I too was worried about that same thing but you just incorperate(sp?) them into you routine and get on with your life. it IS scary at first, but like anything new, once you're used to it, it looses it scaryness. I am mid way through my pureed phase of the Post op diet and It has acutally made me use my head more with reguards to what I can do with food, and how I can get it from a usual state to a Pureed state without wanting to vomit at the final result. All challenges met, wheather(sp?) we win or fail, make us stronger! You (like most of us) will do just fine and what food you loose, you will find others to replace them.

pureed foods are going well. BIG test tonight as I have steak available on the menu and it has been a looooong time since I had one of those... I could put it through the F.P. but mushy steak... I think not!!! Anyway, only about 10 day until people food again :clap2: !!!

:hungry: :hungry: :hungry: Here are a couple of Menu items I had over the last few days... I thought I would share since others are in my boat currently.... Also... if you are pre op dieting you may want to skip... (disclaimer for those that need one) :hungry: :hungry: :hungry: A nice meal I had for supper was: 1/2 cup Blender Chicken (done dry to keep it's chickeny appearence) 1/4 Cup Mashed (pureed) Potatoes 1/4 cup-ish Mushroom soup Pile chicken on plate to simulate chix Breast Spread mashed Pots to cover about same area as Chicken, making top flat Cover both with mushroom Soup (Like gravy) to moisten chicken and potatoes adding lots of Yummy flavour! Enjoy :hungry: :hungry: :hungry: 1/4 cup refried beans 1/4 cup Mashed potatoes 1/4 cup Blender Chicken (done dry to keep it's chickeny appearence) 3 shakes Chilli Powder or Tex-Mex Seasoning 2 Tbsp Salsa 2 Tbsp Sour Cream 2 Tbsp Shredded Cheddar Spread Refried on the bottom of a bowl Cover (best you can) with Mashed Pots Cover with Chicken Shake seasoning over top to taste Cover with Plastic wrap and Microwave for 1 minute Remove cover sprinkle cheese on top and recover and nuke 1 minute Remove cover add Salsa and Sour Cream Enjoy :hungry: :hungry: :hungry: There you have a couple dishes I have tried and liked since my pureed diet began. Hope you like...

I had mashed potatoes with supper (Cream O' Broc and Cheese soup)... they were YUUUUUUUMMMMMmmmmmMMMMMmmmmMMmmmY!!!!:hungry: And I got a blizzard for desert (or is it dessert? I can never spell that one), anyway... It was OK but I could have missed it and never known... tomorrow I have eggs and Mashed spuds for Lunch!!!! I can HARDLY wait!!! :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2:

I have that too, my port is raised to the point that it casts a shadow in the bathroom light. I d not believe it to be swelling, for I can feel my port exactly. It is below my highest scar just off center of my belly/chest intersection. It is sore to the touch, but it feels to me like only my skin is stretched over it. I fear it is not swelling at all! :straight

Not according to Mrs.Y... If I'm a good boy I can have mushies friday supper...:whoo: But I am rarely a good boy....:heh:

I am unsure what the "hair feeling" was, it could be an actual hair (tho I never found one), or it could have been an abrasion from the tube they had down my throat during the porcedure, or even as you said the soft stop signal. But I have had it less and less since last week, it is all but gone now and tomorrow will be 2 weeks since the banding. If other have the feeling hopefully they too will take note and share their conclusions (if they make any)

To add to the mrs' post... Lots of RUM! (Artificial or alcoholic is up tp you)

I am on full fluids too... Looking forward to real people food again... For more up to date updates... have a look at yodas yammerings... Congrats to us all for taking this step and surviving this long!!!

This was (and yet maybe) the journal entry that I had written the night before my surgery (May 3rd 2007)... Since the journals are STILL not working, I will post it here for you all to read... I am sorry, it is long... Here goes.... Epic Battle… I have walked in the valley of shadows and come out the other side! (Maybe not entirely whole, but I have done it!) About 10 days ago I started the Pre-op diet of Y&CC. Day 1 was hard, work had many of my favourite nibbles on hand. Next to me, startling me a little when I noticed, was the shadowy figure of doubt. You may know It by other names, Gluttony, Nibbles, Grazer, Go-a-head, Why-not, and many others. It stood beside me and offered all those tasty treats to me, with the promise of no consequences if I had some. But I knew that to be a lie. In a battle that rivalled the finally of LOTR:ROTK,:fencing: It and I had at it. No holds barred, only one of us would win. If It won, I would dive into the tasty morsels presented to me like a two peckered hoot owl in mating season locked in the barn with 1000 females. If I won, I would be free of It for a while and my resistance to the food would hold. For 8 hours we fought, not a moment of rest, no quarter was given, and none were taken. As the bell tolled on the end of the 8th hour, we had fought to a stale mate. Luckily the battle kept me away from the food and in a small way, I achieve victory. Day 2 it began again, the moment I awoke, It was there, hounding me to dive into the sweets and yummys I had around the house. Again the battle raged as I battled for my very existence, It on the never relenting attack, using my own memory of the foods I was now denied as bait to weaken my will and lessen my resolve. Again the battle raged, the ground slippery with the gooey centres of snack foods, and the carcases of yoghurt containers strewn about like lost souls in the anteroom to Hell. But again as the bell tolled to end the day, I was exhausted and the mere thought of food, brought tears to my eyes and bile to my throat. I had won another day, but It swore It would see me fail, and would return to do so. Day 3, 4 and 5 It changed its tactics. It began a guerrilla war against my will power. Attaching when I wasn’t expecting it, making me look at food to see the quick nibble, :croc: the tiny morsel that could never hurt me to just pop into my mouth and make go away. It was a hard battle again. Making me tired as I tried to keep my defences at the ready. But It was cunning, sensing every frailty in my armour and exploiting them to make me stumble and fall. But as the day wore on I found it easier to combat the devil with Twinkies in its eyes. Until the bell tolled again on the end of the day and I found myself energized. For I had won repeatedly against It and with each victory, I found my armour stronger. The final 5 days It would rear Its ugly head, but strangely, Its power over me was non-existent. It would use all the tricks from all the other days and I would hardly even respond, to the point of watching other eat and be slightly sickened by their choices or their manners. It came only once today (Thurs. May 3), while I was cooking Bacon, the smell had me entranced and suddenly It was there, offering me one fragment of a crispy slice. But I only eyed the morsel dispassionately before scoffing at It and turning away:nono: . And from the corner of my eye, I saw something I never thought I would see in my life time, It hung it’s head, defeated and slunk back into the shadows. I had won!:whoo: For the first time, I had beaten It back to the point of It giving up and leaving :evil: :whip: . I smiled as I watched It retreat to the shadowy part of my brain that currently has no pull on me. It was a nice feeling to look at the world and not worry about my next slip, or taste, or blunder with regards to food. For the first time, I controlled It, not the other way around. I had stared the beast in the eye and made it blink first. I entered a personal Hell and walked through it to the other side, with nary a mark to show for it. Yes… I no longer fear Hell… (It fears me!!!)

She already told me about it, that is why I posed the question... hehehe My BP is ranging from 110/55 to 126/65 (mean adverages) so I haven't restarted my BP meds yet. I am a little scared about going so low again, so if my BP gets over 130/anything (I take it every couple to four hours) I will start the meds again, if it doesn't get over (Even when I return to work) I will see the doc about cutting them down to out all together. Mrs. Yoda took the steri-strips off tonight, Not bad, LOTS of glue, little dried blood (Mrs. Y had a little trouble with that...she almost :eek: )But she held up and got them off and cleaned me up somewhat. Now I think I'll wear a T-shirt under everything for a little while, hygene and all. Had a nice cream of chicken Soup tonight (even had a couple Chunks of chicken I got to chew... it was heavenly) I am getting tired of the soup all the time tho... I picked up some oddball ones, red pepper, butternut squash, MMmmMmm, and a black bean one... will have to give them a try soon, still have till Saturday on these things... :bored Off to Xbox for a bit...(my treat for being a good boy!!!)

We actually went to a restaurant yesterday after a movie. it was nice to be somewhere other than home for a meal. I had a cream of broc soup and Mrs Yoda got some ZZA and we had a good time chatting and munching. She also had it for supper later, but I finished my soup and about a 1/4 glass of water. No ill effect, cept when we got there I was incredibly hot, to the point of being clammy a few minutes there, but after that everything was great. only another week till I can whip up some food... Can pizza be pureed? hehehe Anyway just thought I would share that with eveyone...

I have to wonder if I am doing this wrong, or is something not right in me? I am having a hard time with the 1/4 cup of soup. I am feeling full like all the time, I have to force myself to eat, thinking I won't get it down, but somehow it goes. Plus I seem to have this feeling in the back of my throat, like there is a hair sitting at the back of my tongue. It would go away, it is not there in the morning, then as soon as I drink my Protien Shake, it seems to appear and stays all day. it is worst when I have the full feeling, but I know there is nothing there. Anyone else have this or something simular? Anyway, off to shower....:clap2: I miss that the most i think...

I was wondering how many of the May banders are schedualled for the Fill seminar on June 18th. I am going to the afternoon meeting (1:30) is anyone else going that time and date?

Today I start FULL Fluids!!! I am also down 24lb! :clap2:

I get to have full fluids today... :whoo: