Inner Surfer Girl

Black tea has a lot of caffeine. What does your NUT/surgeon recommend about caffeine so close to surgery?

I was just looking through the tv listings tonight. On PBSs Independent Lens is a documentary entitled "All of Me: A Story of Love, Loss, and Last Resorts" (2014). It says that it's about women undergoing a weight loss surgery. I've set my DVR. I don 't know if it has been on before. Has anyone seen this one? Here is a link to a blog post at the Independent Lens site that has additional info http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/more-of-all-of-me

I'm in Danville and still pre-op.

My surgeon has made it very clear that everyone who lives more than 30 minutes away has to have a plan in place to stop and walk every 30 minutes on the way home.

Watching the series "My 600 Pound Life" was sobering and enlightening.

I agree with what everyone else has said. Do what you love. Take classes, join a church, join the Y or a gym, volunteer, join or start a group (book, movie, sports, whatever). There should be a million things available to do in Chicago.

For me, taking classes helps so that I have something fun to look forward to at a specific time and date. Try something fun like dance. I took a belly dance class once that was lots of fun and a great workout.

I think I have completed most everything and waiting on a surgery date.

I am. I am pre-op and planning to get the sleeve.

I have seen threads and participants on here from friends and family.

I watched the show this afternoon and am still processing it. It wasn't as much about WLS as it was about the changing dynamics when members of a group of overweight women lose weight. One of the women was later featured in an episode of "My 600 Pound Life". I personally found the fetish/porn subculture featured to be uncomfortable.

Are you eligible for Medicare in your state? A subsidy? I understand the budget issue but hope you explore all your options. Also, see if the surgeon you choose has insurance for complications (like Blis). I truly hope everything goes well for you. I wish you all the best.

I think we are in the season for re-runs on PBS. This was a late-night showing on my PBS so it may have been a one-off. I taped it last night but still haven't had a chance to watch it. The website does have links to other resources (like OA).

Are you in the US? You don't have any insurance or you have insurance that doesn't cover WLS? If you don't have any insurance I would recommend spending the money you would have in Mexico on insurance and save up for the surgery. Depending on your state you might be able to find a policy that would cover the surgery. If you don't have insurance and have any complications (that would have been covered by your insurance or not) you will be in a world of hurt. Just my opinion. I am pretty risk averse and know that without any insurance most people are one illness away from financial disaster.

Actually, I have found to my surprise that the longer I chew a small bite, the longer I get to enjoy the flavor. Who knew?

Is it a coincidence that McDonald's downturn in sales is in the news lately? I think not.

Your eyesight also suddenly changes at about age 40 and 2 months and 8 days (to paraphrase my optometrist friend). That is why we all suddenly need reading glasses starting in our 40s. I don't know how old you are but this might apply!

Be careful! Raccoons like it when they are fed well and don't like it so much when they aren't. We had family friends who fed raccoons and when they went on vacation the raccoons broke into their house and trashed the place.

Since I haven't been working for the last couple of years I haven't been wearing jewelry (or makeup) very often. I recently bought myself a cz sapphire solitaire necklace (on deep discount) as a treat. I still don't have a surgery date but I am starting to enjoy the little things again.

Now that I'm trying to eat cleaner and preparing more of my own food I am experimenting with herbs and spices. How do you use herbs (fresh and dried) and spices? Do you have any favorite herb mixes? What are your staples and how have you used them in the various post-op phases?

You can post it under Food and Nutrition - Recipe Sharing

Curry is one flavor I have never really liked.

I have a microwave, toaster oven, rice cooker, electric skillet, egg maker, crock pot, and a two-burner hot plate-type appliance that I use pretty much in that order of frequency. (I am renting a small efficiency garage apartment from my parents.)

Why run if you don't like it? There are so many other things you could do that aren't as hard on your joints. Exercise should be fun.

If you eat a lot of hard boiled eggs you might want to invest in an egg cooker. I got one for about $15. Since I live in a small apartment without a stove, it is a pain to boil a pot of water. But with my egg cooker I can make quite a few boiled eggs very easily. It makes great soft, medium and hard boiled eggs.