Miss Mac

At nearly one year (12/23/2013) I am up to 80-100 ounces of Water, tea, and milk per day, but did not start there. Freshly pre-op it was hard to get 40 ounces in and it took me an hour to drink 8 ounces. Now I can sip every few minutes except for carving out meal times, and I keep 3 water bottles by the bed at night. I have to remember to sip, but it can be done - just not in gulps.

I started out on 1/3 cup plus two tablespoons of food, but was told that after about six months I could start eating a bit more, maybe a full cup total. With 3 weeks to go for my one year, that is still where I am. That or 2 ounces of Protein on the scale a a few small bites of veggies (usually green beans). If I were to eat something like chili, 1/2 to 2/3 cup would be plenty.

I grew up with 60 (as in sixty) first cousins. The hub of all of our celebration was the 80 acre farm that had been in the family ever since Indiana opened up for settlement. It is near the route that Morgan's Raiders took on their way from Kentucky to Ohio to whoop some Yankees. My grandfather's grandmother (Druscilla)was a Morgan, and as the troops spread out in search of food and supplies, a group of them hid in the walnut woods on the property. Of course, the raid didn't quite go their way, and the Yankees whooped back and put John Hunt Morgan in prison. We cousins loved to sit on the living room floor at the farmhouse and listen to the grownups tell the family stories like that. Druscilla Morgan's mother (Mary Priscilla Bryan) was a cousin of Daniel Boone's wife Rebecca Bryan. Druscilla's father and uncle both fought with Boone in defending the pioneer forts of their friends. The farm bustled at Thanksgiving time. The uncles (Dad was the 3rd of 9 brothers and 3 sisters) would play basketball on the gravel out by the barn. They were very competitive. Dad and one of his brothers were part-time referrees for high school tournaments. The aunts would make apple cider on the cider press out back of the farmhouse. Grandma and the aunts would make pumpkin pie from pumpkins grown at the farm. My cousins and I would argue over who got to eat the turkey legs. After the uncles were done with basketball they would come in the house and play Carrems and teach the older cousins how to play. Grandma smelled like food; Grandpa smelled like cows and cigars. At Thanksgiving, Grandpa would cut a tree from the woods and bring it in and we would decorate it with garlands made of colored popcorn and other homemade decorations. Now it just seems like family wants to do a hit and run, and not linger for a very long visit. Everyone is too busy with their lives. I miss that close family atmosphere. I am very thankful for being exposed to a humble farm life and having a large family to love.

The laxative properties in Smooth Move Teas are herbal and not chemical like Ex-Lax or Miralax. I am supposed to still be taking stool softeners because of the pain meds I take causing constipation. The Smooth Move tastes a little like licorice, but I steep the chocolate flavor in a cup of sugar-free cocoa at bedtime if I have not had enough veggies that day. So, I don't use it to purge a meal, because I was an anorexic teen and don't want the opposite problem with laxative bulemia now. Seems like I use Smooth Move a couple of times a week, though. When constipation was a problem for a while, I did indeed use it every day. I keep it on hand. I got mine from Amazon, too. It shipped quickly.

My boyfriend cooked our meal yesterday. I had turkey with a little bit of homemade cranberry relish (made with sweetener instead of sugar), and green Beans without the crunchy onion topping, I passed on the mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, and dressing. Today, I took the remaining turkey leg and made some bone broth. We folks here on the forum are a creative bunch. I applaud you for making it through while on a liquid pre-op diet.

I tried smushy cauliflower at that stage, and Miss Tummy made me regret it for the next four hours. If she does not like what I give her, she either does that or gives it back to me, or runs it through like a sieve. Introducing mushies, soft things, and regular food is going to be like a mad scientist experiment. You may not get the same results as you had with foods when you were pre-op. Make sure you weigh and measure for at least several weeks, and don't eat he last bite. Of course, if the pain is getting out of hand, call your doctor or go to the ER if you need to. I hope this helps. Oh yeah, I am closing in on my one year post-op, and I still have not had cauliflower again!

I had to stop cold turkey (no pun intended on this Thanksgiving Day) about a year before surgery. I was having a really hard time of it with reflux and diverticulitis, and a endscopy showed that I had a severe inflammation in my stomach and esophagus. The doctor put me on a no caffein, acids, hot sauce etc. regime to help.it calm down before I got full-blown ulcers. It was hard for a few days, especially since there are other soda pop drinkers in the house. But I had to decide if it was worth the pain of stomach ulcers. My biggest problem with giving up certain things is not that my stomach wanted that stuff, but my taste buds wanted it. The advantage to that now is that either it's the medications, or the ketosis, or something phisiologic about the change in out stomachs - food and drinks (for most of us) just do not taste the same post-op. Old favorites are blech! and new things are hmmmm not so bad. If you can get past a couple of days, you should be alright. My guess is that as soon as you ditch the soda and cut back on starchy carbs, any bloat that you have will start to disappear. You just have to think differently to feel differently.

I have previous posts where I mentioned that BCBS Federal Employee is the best insurance I have ever had.........ever. My surgery was entirely paid for except $150.

Mine used to look like two cats in a sack. Now it just looks like the sack.

Me too.....30 minutes and scrape the plate.

November 26 will be your new birthday, then......so Happy Birthday!

Had mine out back in 1973 (I was 21) when they still cut you half in two, and I was in the hospital for eleven days. Have not missed it since! I would think that if you have both of your surgeries at the same time, how covenient is that? One hospital stay and you are home and done. You won't miss that thing at all. Good luck with your surgery.

Oh yeah.....I keep a stash of Chocolate Smooth Move on hand. I put it in my hot chocolate at bedtime. Gets the job done.

Did you have a hiatal hernia repair with your surgery?

I managed to give up my tea and am drinking decaf which tastes like twigs and grasshoppers. It is a better alternative than green tea which tastes like feet. I would be really hard pressed to give up artificial sweetener. I have given up everything else. The sweetener will go kicking and screaming.

That's not a tear....just something in my eye.

My year is three weeks away, and MIss Tummy is still very noisy when I am drinking fluids between meals. It sounds like a dinosaur fight.

My year is in three weeks. At this point, I have not had any issues with motion sickness. I hope you can get your issue resolved.

I am required to take the Bariatric Advantage AE stink a** horsepill multi. I pulverize it with a mortar and pestle and hide it in one of these: strawberry applesauce Greek Yogurt with a tablespoon of sugar free grape or raspberry or strawberry or apricot jam Peanut Butter with sugar free chocoate syrup (so kinda like a Reeses Cup) Apple Cider made with a sugar free cider packet Sugar free cran-grape juice. They are too big to swallow whole or halves or even quarters. I have to disguise it in something - it is so disgusting.

I am retired and housebound, so I am able to check several times a day. It keeps me out of trouble.

My high weight was 235 and my goal is 135. I am three weeks from my one year and have lost 65 pounds. That's my 60% plus five. I have been on a long (three month stall), but I am not stopping with 35 pounds to go. I am doing everything I am supposed to be doing. I am sure what is holding me back is the fact that I have orthopedic issues and nerve damage that make sustained exercise painful and difficult. However, I have my one year visit with my team on December 18, and I am hoping they can give me the boost that I need to lose weight as a 170 pound woman who needs to lose 35 pounds. My understand of how this works is that the higher you start, the more quickly you could lose a significant amount. For example, I needed to lose 100 pounds to reach goal. Someone who weighs 400 pounds and needs to lose 250 pounds may lose their first 100 pounds right away. Just consider how your health will be in five years if you don't have the surgery and how your health will be in five years if you do have the surgery. 250 pounds would be like having two ponies and a bale of hay for a belt. Here is a list of what things weigh. I got it from Spark People It is very interesting. I hope this helps to give you a nudge. http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_journal_individual.asp?blog_id=3421351

Gonna eat turkey and green Beans, maybe a deviled egg later. No dessert, but Monday December 1st is my birthday, so I am going to have 1/24th of a New York Cheesecake, about 110 calories.

Mine are the Chewable Calcium + D, Walgreen's "Well" house brand.

I agree with elode. No more food Network for you.

Welcome. It looks like someone besides me is up thinkin' when they ought to be sleepin'. I started at 235 also, with the same goal of 135. I had a three month supervised diet during which I lost 22 pounds. I have lost another 43 since then, but came to a screeching halt three months ago. I am not giving up. 65 down and 35 to go. I can't imagine having those 65 pounds back. My first year is coming in close - just three weeks away. What a year it has been. I have gone from a size 24 to a 12/14 and had three closet flushes. I can cross my legs. Not only do I sleep better, but my bed feels larger! Good luck on your journey. Six months is going to pass whether you have surgery or not, so enjoy the ride. It will go quickly enough, and you will learn new skills along the way. I have (in the past) let newbies know that opinions and tact vary. Just take what you need and throw the rest away! I wish you good luck and good health.