terry1118

I made my husband a whole wheat pizza with turkey pepperoni. So he was all set but what was I going to have? I took some leftover ricotta bake, added some pizza sauce and chopped turkey pepperoni and... Voila! I had a pretty tasty dinner and wasn't envying my hubby his pizza. :-)

I'm 54 and I had my surgery 8 months ago. I have only one regret - that I didn't do this YEARS ago! I became overweight with my first pregnancy in '86 (full term twin girls), increasing my weight in '91 with my second pregnancy (10 1/2 pound son), and then steadily gaining from there. At first, because I was young, I was a pretty healthy fat person. I did things with my kids (even if I was uncomfortable or embarrassed). Gradually I developed back, knee, and foot pain. I became less active because of the pain and continued to gain weight. I had high cholesterol, was pre-diabetic, carb-sensitive, and had gall stones from my continuous high fat diet. I was on medication for the cholesterol that affected my liver. My husband is into body building and is extremely fit and healthy. He looks 15 years younger than me. I couldn't do anything with him. Last year I was in so much pain that I could barely get through my workday (I work in a bank). I was miserable and becoming more unhealthy with each month that passed. I only had a few items of clothing that fit and they were getting tight. The thought of buying something in sz24 or 3x made me cringe. I'm only 5' tall and I was pretty huge. I'm telling you all this because most of you seem young with young families. If you do this now you can enjoy your younger years and be a bigger part of your children's lives. You can be the fun mom doing things with your kids, not the one who watches the fun happen from the sidelines. You can get healthy BEFORE the health problems start to do damage to your bodies and make you miserable - perhaps even shortening your life. You can LIVE and not just EXIST. I had my surgery on 5/30/13 I healed quickly with no complications and very little discomfort. By July my snoring stopped. By August I was off meds and feeling really good. By fall I was very active - all my body aches and pains were gone. I was loving shopping for clothes and I was a size 16. By Christmas I had lost 100 pounds and was a size 10! I'm only 9 pounds away from my married weight. I go with my husband on his motorcycle - back-boobs are gone and I look great in my leather jacket. I walk my dogs a lot and they are no longer chubby, too! I am SO VERY HAPPY and I feel GREAT!!! I wasted so much of my life feeling terrible, physically and mentally. If you do this now you won't regret it. In all my research I couldn't find anyone who did. Even the few I found who had complications said they had no regrets. The only regret most have is that they waited too long. Only you know what is best for you. But if you wonder if you should wait until you develop weight-related problems that says to me that you know nothing will change between now and then. Why wait? Just my thoughts... :-)

Just be careful choosing your Protein. Not all protein supplements are the same. Some are designed to bulk up and build body mass and may be much higher calorie, and some are designed to help lose fat while repairing and building muscle. Most protein supplements are originally designed to be used w/a body building workout routine. Some protein supplements are specifically designed as a dietary supplement for people who've had weight loss surgery or who have other medical reasons for not being able to eat enough normally (medical use Proteins like Unjury). Cheaper protein supplements are sometimes cheaper for a reason - they have useless fillers added and less quality usable product. They may contain other ingredients that might not be absorbed as well. We spent a good deal of time looking for a protein that had what my body-building husband needed (low calorie, quality protein for muscle building and repair after heavy workout). My protein is slightly different than his and has what I need (quality protein, good nutrition, low calorie). Mine tastes better than his. :-) Do your research and talk to your nutritionist.

Regardless the brand of protein you choose you should check out 'The World According to Eggface'. She has a lot of tasty recipes for protein shakes to keep you from getting bored w/one thing. You're going to love the creative variations! :-)

I'm 54 w/three grown children so I'm not interested in starting again. :-) But it seems to me that quite a few young people have mentioned that they've gotten pregnant post RNY. Some of them couldn't get pregnant before due to being obese. The ones who've recently given birth came through pregnancy just fine and had beautiful healthy babies. I don't know how they fared w/morning sickness and nutrition. Perhaps some of them will reply,or you could search the posts. Good luck!

You don't need much. The few things already mentioned are good. I also brought a bathrobe so I didn't flash anyone while walking the halls, a good book to read, and my own pillow. The pillow did double duty - I sleep better with my own and on the ride home it protected my midsection from the seatbelt. Everything else I brought just stayed in my bag. :-)

Hair loss from the stress of surgery followed by rapid weight loss won't occur until 3-4 months out and then will continue for 3-6 months afterward. :-p My hair started falling out at approximately 4 mos. I'm eight months out and it appears to be slowing but it's hard to tell. I have baby-fine hair so, after losing quite a bit of it, it's REALLY thin right now. Still, it's a fair trade for losing over 100 pounds! :-)

72? That would be heavenly! We might hit close to 40 today. :-p. After all the bitter cold days we've had 40 will be a treat! I sure hope February is better than January, but it's usually not! Oh well, February is a short month...

And coffee (if your doctor allows it) or tea must be decaf. My program says no coffee, reg or decaf, for the first three months - it's acidic and an irritant to your healing pouch, and it's a diuretic which can contribute to dehydration. A cup of herbal tea or even a cup of warm water with lemon is great to wake up your pouch in the morning. :-)

I have no trouble w/cocktail sauce. I cut my shrimp into little bite-sized pieces , add a tablespoon of cocktail sauce, and stir it around to coat all the pieces. If you eat protein with a little sugar it helps counteract any effects it would have if you had the sugar alone. That little bit is just enough to make it very tasty! :-)

Beanitos taste great but make me gurgle. They have rice flour and it seems I can't do rice in any form. :-(

I bought that granola last week - I've been mixing it into my yogurt for a little 'crunch'. It's a great flavor and protein boost!

I made the ricotta bake tonight for dinner. I doubled the recipe because my hubby wanted to try it, too. I had about a half cup for my dinner, reserved a half cup for my lunch tomorrow, and hubby ate the rest. The ENTIRE thing! He said it was good! :-)

Right now water is the most important thing. Protein is a lot easier to get in when you can eat more variety of foods. Do the best you can. One thing that I would suggest is logging your food so you know exactly how much protein you're getting each day. I use Spark People but a lot of people really like My Fitness Pal. It will calculate and track everything for you so you know exactly how you are doing. :-)

I was told no alcohol for a year. The reason for this is your liver is working overtime to process all the toxins released from the fat you're burning, and most of that fat is lost in the first year. If you drink alcohol when your liver is already stressed it could cause liver failure. The second reason for the alcohol restriction is the high risk of cross-addiction. We all suffer from some sort of food addiction. When you remove the substance a person was addicted to, they will be susceptible to other forms of addiction like alcohol, drugs, sex, or shopping. After a year we've learned new coping skills and it may be safe to have alcohol in moderation with less risk.

Yogurt itself is considered a liquid and doesn't need to be thinned. Choose one with no chunks of fruit for this stage - vanilla, key lime, lemon, etc. Eat small bites slowly. I liked chowder and broccoli cheese soup (strained or pureed), pea soup (pureed and thinned), sf pudding mixed w/choc protein, ricotta seasoned and mixed with sauce, French Onion soup - broth only, and Atkins protein shakes. When you mix unflavored protein into soups make sure it's not hot (more like over warm is good). If the soup is hot the protein foams and changes the consistency of the soup. And you don't have to use a whole scoop - sprinkling in a teaspoon or tablespoon into everything you eat will add up and be less noticeable to your taste buds. I remember everything having an unpleasant taste for a month or more. It does get better... :-)

Perhaps when fully healed you could eat a little hot dog but that soon after surgery? You still have a lot of swelling and you're not healed enough for that type of food experimentation. At that point I was still on pureed food. Follow your doctors orders to prevent possible injury or complications. I was told that fibrous, stringy, or dense foods could get caught in the staples causing infection or leakage and could require more surgery to fix. Vomiting like that so soon after your surgery can't be good for incisions that haven't had time to completely heal, either. Your unpleasant experience should be enough to help you not want to do it again. Take it slow and give yourself time to heal. :-)

Snacking at night used to be one of my downfalls. I found that I can tolerate those skinny pretzel sticks and have started to include them as a snack. But I'm sometimes snacking on them in the evening, which is a bad habit for me to resume. I'll try straight water at night. Gotta nip this in the bud...

I know! We got the same amount of snow but I just brushed off my car and went to work. To be fair though, we have snow tires, our roads are pre-treated with salt and sand, we have a LOT of practice driving in it, and many of us have 4x4 or all-wheel drive. Timing is everything, too. You guys got hit when kids were getting out of school and adults were leaving work. And it's my understanding that you had ice too. Ice will cause trouble anywhere!

Are you in the US? I went out on FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act). It protects your job while out of work and allows you to collect temporary disability (even if you use accrued sick time, as I did - I was used that and received TDI while out of work). I only needed two weeks out of work but I wanted to be prepared if there were complications. I would highly recommend anyone use this option just in case.

Ditto. :-)

In my program they teach us that Vitamin B is very important for healthy brain function. B deficiency will result in irreversible and permanent loss of brain function. When stressing the importance of a lifelong vitamin regimen they gave us an example of a young professional woman who stopped taking all her vitamins, including B, when she lost the weight she wanted. She eventually, over time, became mentally disabled and was unable to work. If a tiny little vitamin each day is so important then I'm taking it as directed.

I had an allergic reaction to something following my surgery (three different docs couldn't figure out what). I developed a terrible rash that covered my belly, lower back, thighs, and upper arms. I was told to take children's Benedryl liquid because pills were a no-no during the first month flowing my bypass. I still take it on occasion. I noticed the liquid seemed to kick in faster than the capsules so I still buy the children's liquid. If you can't take pills or have trouble with them getting stuck, try the liquid. Very cheap at Walmart! :-)

I had four shrimp w/cocktail sauce for lunch. For dinner I had 1/2 cup of homemade spicy turkey chili mixed w/1/4 cup refried beans. Yum! :-)

Even eight months out I can't do tuna or chicken. :-)