Miss Mac

I met the two worst messes of my life the face-to-face way. My first hubby got his mid-life crisis and cheated on me prolifically. My second husband had mental health issues (including being institutionalized) that he and his family withheld from me. He cracked, and I literally had to flee for my life in the middle of the night and move far far away. I took a break from relationships for a couple of years to find out who I was and what I liked when I was true to myself. I finally met the love of my life online at the age of 54. We have been together nine years and he treats me like I am the Queen of his Universe. Love is such a crap shoot. We just can't be so desperate that we ignore the red flags. I quit trying to please the men in my life and began searching for someone who was compatible with the real unvarnished me. We can be totally uninhibited around each other. We had both been thrown away twice and feel blessed to be together.

Aside from fuss at you, he can't undo your surgery. Welcome to onederland.

Scotch tape and Elmer's glue. (OK. steri strips, surgical bond and bandaids.)

This may be bariatric heresy, but when I got to that point where I just wanted to eat my thumbs, I started gearing my meals for more Fiber at the cost of some of the Protein. At close to two years, I am still at only 1000 calories and am supposed to be getting 80-100 grams of protein. I have backed it off to 60 grams in order to get the fiber in. My hamburger patty became 1/2 hamburger patty with Beans and stuff made up as chili. My 3 ounces of chicken became two ounces of chicken and a couple extra bites of veggie. By veggie I don't mean potatoes or corn every night. I mean broccoli, cauliflower, squash, and green beans and veggies like that. I love cheese and Peanut Butter, but they don't fill me up. But if I have a 1/2 sliced apple with a tbs. of peanut butter, that helps satisfy for a snack. You can substitute the real deal for foods processed in a factory. This would be an apple with the peel, not applesauce, fresh pear with the skin, not canned pears in syrup, banana - not banana pudding, or tomato wedges instead of tomato juice. I have good days and bad days too. If my sciatica is acting up, I want comfort food, not celery sticks. This is a balancing act for life and challenging to get perfect every day. Just do your best and try to stay away from edibles made in a factory. Call it food???? I can't. I just can't.

I missed the milk and sugar more than the cereal itself. To compensate for that and no more bedtime ice cream, I have a glass of milk (or almond milk) with some vanilla and a little sweetener.

I lost 22 pounds on a three-month pre-op program.

Everything you are feeling is quite normal and right on schedule. As your progress into the different food phases, you will start to feel better. Hang in there.

I was told by my BCBS Federal case manager that I had to wait until I was two years out. The pannus has to hang below the pubis, and there has to be evidence of a chronic inflammation or infection on the underside that the doctor was not able to successfully treat with progressive measures and medication. BCBS Federal does NOT cover the tummy tuck, or any work on the thighs, underarms, butt, etc.

My Mediterranean boyfriend grows sunchokes in the garden and makes chips out of those. Also I dice chicken or turkey and put that in dip or salsa with sour cream and eat it like a salad. I have also made avocado dip and made roll-ups with deli ham or turkey. I spread some dip on a flat piece of meat, and strips of cheese, then roll it up and eat it.

I was totally exhausted with the slightest activity until I started regular cooked foods.

Why isn't your hubby coming to your rescue? Don't let them take away your joy. Once you have the surgery, they can't undo it. In about a year, you can tell them, "I told you so." I am a domestic violence survivor and lucky to be alive. If your man is not intervening for you, then you should examine your relationship. Why would you love someone who allows you to be treated that way? Why are you still there? (Those are questions my doctor asked me when I came into his office with a bruise the size of a seven ounce steak on my arm). Bariatric surgery has a way of exposing the raw dynamics of our relationships and lets the truth come out. People feel like they have the right to speak on our health choices, appearance , and future bit**iness. You are finding out how they really feel about you. That includes your hubby. It's sore, but effective in opening our eyes. I wish you the best. Bottom line is you are an adult in charge of your own health care. Do what you need to do to get healthy and happy. Eliminating the negative people in our lives is where most of us start. I wish you good luck and good health.

if you are two months out like your profile suggests, your plan may allow you to eat chunkier Soups like chili. The spicy Beans will help disguise the meat flavors. Wendy's chili with beans was my first cooked food in Phase 4. I stopped by on the way home from the bariatric clinic. Chili with cheese is my "go-to" when eating at a restaurant. You get meat and beans and cheese for Protein, plus some to take home for later. Skip the crackers. I used to put spaghetti or macaroni in my chili pre-op, but no more. Sigh........

The Smooth Move tea definitely works. Too bad they all taste like licorice. My favorite however was the chocolate. I put it in hot chocolate to help disguise the flavor.

Yep. It's like travelling with a toddler.

OOPs ! 30 years. That's even better.

My maternal grandmother lived to the age of 98. In that case, you have 20 years to go. Why be miserable? Grandma went without teeth from about 65 years or so, because she felt like she was not going to live that much longer. She could have had dentures for 33 years if she had not been so stubborn. If you need the surgery to be healthy and happy, then go for it. Actually, for me, the hardest part was pre-op and one uncomfortable week post-op. I had my surgery at three weeks shy of 63 and don't regret it at all. I am soooooo much healthier and off of 7 out of 10 meds.

My plan was similar. I could also have banana or canned fruit mashed up, mashed potato or sweet potato, well cooked veggies such as carrots or green Beans, even ground beef.

Next time you are in the store, use this chant: Walk away from the chocolate. Walk away from the chocolate. Walk away from the chocolate.....................

I am not sure what your standard is for a "full meal". At 21 months my limit is 2 ounces of Protein, like meat or 2 scrambled eggs and a few bites of vegetables. My policy is to not eat anything made in a factory. That stuff may be a constructed edible, but it is not fuel for your body. If this is a genuine post and not one of those jokers we get once in awhile, I agree that you should be contacting your bariatric team for support and information. No one can strap you down and make you eat wholesome nutritious food. It's all on you to make your surgery work. If you are losing weight eating that way, my guess is that you are losing muscle and not fat. I hope you can get some effective help from your team. I wish you the best.

I gained 8 pounds during the two days I spent in the hospital. By the time I lost that and 6 more, I hit the dreaded third week stall - which lasted over a week. It wasn't really until 4 weeks that weight started coming off steadily.

I should get those pork rinds. I ate them way back when I went on a divorce diet and lost 50 pounds with Atkins.

If you have just one support person who can wait out your surgery and recovery and take you home two days later, you can sneak this under the radar. Most hospitals require a support person to be on the premises during the operation. Once you have it done, she can raise a ruckess, but she can't undo the deed. Let the little dogs bark. I wish you the best. Ben Franklin said, "To whom thy secrets thou does tell, to him thy freedom thou doest sell."

If I eat a banana that has 25 carbs and 3 grams of fiber, that is 22 net carbs.

I hear you. I had to give up the food networks for a while.

Same concern as the others. At one week, I was still on full liquids, about to transition to purees at 2 1/2 weeks, soft foods at 3 1/2 weeks, and regular cooked foods at 4 1/2 weeks, and from what I see here on the forum, that is an aggressive plan. You have have found out that your new tummy is in charge, now. You may as well give it a name. Mine is Miss Tummy and she is the boss of me. If I overstep her boundaries, she will make sure that I am miserable for hours.