Robyn Owens-Miille

For me, it was the doctor wanting to add another pill to my list (already way tooo long for my liking) because my diabetes was out of control. I decided, "no more pills" and had the surgery within 4 weeks. And... drum roll please... I haven't taken anything for diabetes since day 9 post-op! Blood pressure meds are cut in half. Cholesterol meds are gone too! Now i'm down to 1 bp pill, 1 prevacid, 1 allergy pill and all my supplements.

At 2 months post-op, this is what my typical day is like. Breakfast options: 1 single serving non-fat greek yogurt with about 1/4 cup fruit, some torani sugar free syrup, a sprinkle of Eggface's Protein granola or some sliced almonds. 4 of Eggface's "bites" (I make them with turkey sausage and shredded apple for breakfast) 1 scrambled egg with a healthy spoon of Jimmy Dean turkey sausage crumbles, sometimes wrapped in a mission low carb whole wheat tortilla (I can't eat it all if I wrap it in the tortilla) lunch: tuna salad, chicken salad, turkey ham salad, etc made with olive oil mayo and crunchy veggies (usually about 1/3 cup), with cucumber slices leftovers from dinner "lettuce wrap" made with 2 slices of lunch meat, 1 slice of sargento thin sliced cheese, wrapped in lettuce leaf. Usually dipped in home guacamole. I buy the 100 calorie packs from Wholly guacamole. Dinner suggestions: crock pot salsa chicken- cook a couple of chicken breasts with about 1/2 cup salsa and then shred the meat. I make it into "tacos" by adding some shredded lettuce, veggies, etc. Eat in a lettuce wrap or in a low carb tortilla. This always leaves plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day grilled fish, chicken breast or turkey burger (I use my George Forman grill) and make sure they stay moist! turkey meat balls with a little sugar free spaghetti sauce and veggies such as zucchini, mushrooms, black olives, etc veggies: well cooked cauliflower squash zucchini green Beans sweet potato (not often, it's a treat) mushrooms onions lettuce cucumber slices Snacks yogurt (if I didn't have it for breakfast) apple slices (no skin), sliced super thin with sugar free almond butter or string cheese hard boiled egg Eggface's "bites" turkey meatballs with a smear of barbeque sauce lower fat cheese Good luck! If you haven't found it yet, go to www.theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com. She is a Gastric Bypass patient but the recipes all work for us too! Wonderful ideas, even for early post-ops.

I would be interested if it doesn't work out with praldous.

I cook up stuff on the weekend- turkey meatballs, boil eggs, cook meats in the crock pot, make egg face's protein bites, granola, etc, You can always buy many healthy items pre-made. They are just going to cost you a bit more.

The do swell up dramatically. I put them in yogurt and they caused a bit of cramping for me. Someone suggested to soak them for 20 minutes or so in water and then add the expanded seeds to your food. That way, you don't have to worry about them expanding in your gut. I just don't know if they still have the same GI benefits from them or not when consumed that way.

I had a 2 1/2 week stall right at 6 weeks. It was as I hit the lowest weight i had been in 10 years. It was like my body was saying "whoa, that's enough now." I just kept at it and the scale moved but it sure was frustrating! I understand. Don't give up. Did you do pre-op measurements? If so, re-measure and show yourself another way that things are changing.

My surgeon said it's all about not tearing open your suture lines. He about had a stroke when I said i was making my own soups and blending them mostly smooth (this was 9 days post-op). He said very sternly "they must be completely smooth, no lumps at all." I just said, "yes, sir" and kept on doing what I was doing. Now, that being said, there is someone on one of the other boards that had a leak develop at 3 weeks post-op, possibly because of too much too fast. Just be careful... at the first hint of pain, stop. Chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew.

So lighten up the calories in that hamburger- make it with 1/2 very lean ground turkey, add some finely chopped veggies to it, etc to make it seem just as filling but have less calories and fat. Play with your food and figure out how to convince your body that you're getting the volume without all the calories. The more you can break this food addiction now, the better you will do post-op. I'm a volume girl (or was) so I understand. I'm glad I didn't have to wait the 6 months (I did my surgery privately) because I think I would have gone crazy. The 9 day cold-turkey, protein shake & sugar free liquids only diet was a b*tch. But, I made it and now I'm on the other side. Good luck to you.

Go to the gym anyway. I met a lady about my age at ours that has lost 111 lbs and offered to work out with me. You might meet someone too.

Maybe you could buy him some convenience items of his own that are less expensive? Or cook up things on the weekend that he can grab during the week (I do this for me a lot). I buy the BIG bag of string cheese at Sam's when we have the $$$. Otherwise, I buy the big block of mozarella or cheddar and cut it into portions and put them in snack baggies for my kids to "share" with me. I buy unsweetened kool-aid and make it with splenda and put it in bottles in the fridge (invest in some rubbermaid bottles). Besides, there is more variety in kool-aid than crystal light. My kids love the Eggface Protein Granola so I make a double or triple batch every week. I also portion it out into baggies and hide some away for me (usually 1 a day for yogurt).

Your doctor's office could submit a pre-authorization request and get an estimate of cost for you. That way you have it in writing!

Ok... no one's been this bold so far.... I want to be able to have sex with my hubby in any position we want! I'm tired of being limited by my size. There, I said it!

Walk for the first month and then you could start anything I wanted to. My current exercise plan: Kickboxing- Monday night Treadmill/ bike/ weight lifting- Tuesday night Water aerobics- Thursday night treadmill/bike/ weight lifting- Saturday morning. I tried Zumba... just not ready for that yet!

For a "chips & salsa" treat, I take a mission whole wheat low carb tortilla (3 net carbs & 9 gram protein), cut it into at least 8 pieces. Spray it with some pam and sprinkle a little salt on. Bake it @ 450 on my pizza stone for about 13 minutes. they aren't the same texture as a corn tortilla but they certainly do hit the spot on a Friday or Saturday night when you want something to snack on in front of a movie. You could even sprinkle a little cheese on it after they were baked for "nachos".

I'm west of you over in North Fort Worth (Azle) area. So, not close enough to get together regularly.

lol @ LouiseC! I have the small $19.95 Ninja from target. Love it!!!! I'm wanting to upgrade soon to the bigger bowls but the smaller one is perfect for a single shake.

I was going to tell you how save on canned Beans... I can't eat a whole can before they go bad (obviously) and I refuse to throw most of a can away. So I rinse and drain them well, spread them out on a cookie sheet that I spray lightly with pam and then freeze them in a single layer. Once they are solid, put them in a baggie and then you can scoop out just the amount you need for your recipe. I do the same thing with fresh fruit when it's super cheap and in season. Feel free to send me a message if you want more recipes. Good luck!

Visit the Eggface site referenced here. GREAT ideas. I make up several kinds of bites on the weekend and put 4 of them in a snack bag and freeze them for quick meals. I also enjoy her Protein "granola." The nuts are a little expensive but they go a very long way and you could make up a double or triple batch to nibble on all week. Her protein pancakes are another recipe that I make up a batch of and keep in the fridge for quick meals. Ground turkey is cheaper than beef usually. Make sure you buy the very lean product though or it's too much fat. Once a week, I buy one big package of very lean ground turkey and cook it up with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Once its cooled, I divide it up into small bags and freeze it for use during the week. Another suggestions is to make up a batch of turkey meatballs and freeze them. This recipe made 36 baby meatballs: 1.25 lbs turkey, 1 egg, 1/3 cup oats, splash of milk, salt, pepper. Mix it up and scoop out into little meat balls. Bake @ 350 for 20 minutes. You could add veggies if you wanted to- such as chopped onions, bell pepper, mushrooms, etc. I personally buy sugar free Peanut Butter, block cheese and cut my own "cheese sticks", low fat cottage cheese, greek yogurt and lots of canned or dried Beans to mix with meat and make it go father (yes, they have some carbs but they're loaded with Fiber and it's not like you're eating a huge amount of them). I quite frequently use coupons for greek yogurt, cheese slices, ground turkey products. Every penny counts on a budget! Learn to shop wisely and stock up that freezer! My freezer is full of little bags of goodies. I squeeze the air out of them and date them and put them inside another bag for double protection.

I used old-fashioned slow cooking oatmeal. I did grind it in my food processor since I didn't want them to be in big flakes in my baby meatballs.

Turkey meatballs 1 lb ground turkey 1/3 cup oats (I grind mine in the food processor) 1 egg splash of milk salt pepper garlic onion powder mix, scoop into small meat balls (I use my small cookie scoop) and bake @ 350 for 15-20 minutes. Serve with veggies and a little of your favorite tomato sauce.